Quinn was considering just stabbing himself at the nearest opportunity. Only then would the organism die, right? No, it would just escape his body and go on a massacre. He looked over at Destiny and the soldiers. It was fast enough to kill enough people and return to his body all in the mere seconds it took for the Waystone to transport him from Caelthrone to Vireth. Quinn stepped forward out of instinct. Brushing past Destiny and the soldiers asking him if he was okay.
'No... that'd be impossible. It knew some sort of trick.'
There was no way the parasite could've left his body and been able to return back during the process of the Waystone transporting them. Unless of course...
Quinn forced his mana to circulate all across his body. One could feel their own mana count, and they understood their limits. It was like being able to recognize how many more repetitions of a workout you could get in before you collapsed. His mana count had grown, it was several times past his previous limit. He spread the newly recognized mana through his body. The organism writhed, and retreated back into his body. Without leaving a ghastly wound this time.
The organism had attached itself to his mana reserves.
Quinn turned to one of the Vireth soldiers. "Where is the nearest dungeon."
The soldier bowed slightly, even if his house was one of lower status, it was still a house in the end.
"Its about an hours worth of travel that way."
The soldier pointed to his right, in the distance a massive obelisk with large runes etched into its outer walls stood out amongst the calm grass plains.
"The entrance is the Obelisk itself, the inspiration of the Waystone. There should be a small Dwellers registry there. It's one of the more dangerous entrances of the dungeons."
"Thank you." Quinn looked over at Destiny.
"I need to test something, head back to Caelthrone. If I'm right, this parasite has officially made itself apart of me. It also killed a lot of people."
Before Destiny could ask questions, Quinn broke off into a sprint. He used Reinforcement, he could physically feel the difference from before. The boost still wasn't so much because making mana simply flow through ones body could only do so much, but it was still a qualitive change as Quinn had much more mana to spare.
His breath was steady. The Obelisk came closer and closer until it towered over him. He entered the small building next to the Obelisk. It was a rather cozy hub, he looked over to the center of the room. Two assigners, as he assumed by their leather attire, stood engaging in small talk.
"Apparently, he covered two months worth of travel in two days, isn't that crazy" The male assigner raised his hands to exaggerate his point. The female assigner nodded vehemently in agreement. "For real... I wonder what he looks like? According to his party member, his arm was nearly torn off."
Quinn ignored them, browsing the rentable weapons that were displayed on stands. He didn't mind going in without armor. But having something to fight with would be nice. His eyes settled on a worn short sword.
This will do... such little class though. I miss my custom made armor already
His previous bronze armor had shipped to his houses estate to be repaired properly. Along with his shield. After today, he would need an upgrade. He doubted plate armor would be useful when there's a writhing parasite making use of his body like it owned it.
He brought the sword to the small counter in the center of the room. Both assigners looked him up and down. Quinn raised an eyebrow
"Is something wrong?" He asked with the decorum of a noble boy. The assigners shook their head.
"No... its just you're covered in blood." The male assigner mumbled, his gaze averted downwards. The female assigner nodded in agreement.
Quinn suddenly remembered his appearance.
"Ah, don't mind it too much. Well, actually, you'll probably hear about it soon. Just, how much to borrow the sword?"
The assigners looked at each other. A conversation with just gazes and a built up a bond. The male assigner sighed.
"It'll be three silver coins."
Quinn reached for the small pouch attached to his belt, and the male assigner flinched. Quinn gave the man a befuddled look.
"I'm not a murderer, man. I'm Quinn Ardanthe, the valiant paladin who survived the Shift? I'm sure you've heard about it now."
The male assigner chuckled "Alright, no need to lie about yourself. I get it you aren't a murderer..." The male assigner's voice lost its spark as Quinn remained serious. It was only then they seemed to notice the absent space where a right arm would normally be.
"Oh... you really are him."
"So now you realize!" Quinn threw his hand up into the air. Then he let out a chuckle.
"Tell me, do I really look that disgruntled right now?" Quinn asked looking down at his bloodied clothes.
"Its kind of charming in a way." The female assigner said. Both Quinn and the male assigner turned to her with scrutiny.
The male assigner quickly shuffled her back a couple steps. "It'll be on the house for today, Mr. Ardanthe."
Quinn gave them a soft smile. "Thank you, I'll be sure to repay you soon."
Quinn could hear the whispered argument of the two assigners as he walked out. He walked over to the Obelisk. The stone shifted, as if noticing his presence.
Perhaps the Dungeon really is alive.
He stepped inside, bright blue runes were floating in the air, each one indiscernible for Quinn. The energy they radiated seemed ancient. He could not ponder on it long as soon a light enveloped him. The familiar feeling of his mana being transported surged through him. He made sure to focus all his mana in one spot, not letting a sliver of it escape.
Once his mana settled, he found himself a standing at the base of a giant waterfall. Lush vegetation surrounded him. A mix of blue and violet colors made up the shrubbery. Quinn realized he may very soon regret his decision. The dungeons were a strange place, despite being underground, they could support spaces like these. With a sky, day and night cycles that included stars in the far distance. Most had suspected that some parts of the dungeons were abandoned or overtaken worlds. Quinn was one of those people, it just didn't make sense for all of this vast land to exist solely in their world.
He let the organism finally appear. It writhed in... well Quinn couldn't exactly read it. Quinn had a rather amazing plan, he would make this thing fight the meanest and baddest of monsters. If it won? He could make it return to his body and take the riches, if it lost? Quinn could retreat and he would be rid of this terrible thing.
It was a rigged outcome, all the odds were in his favor. Really, this was too much of a boon to pass up. It would be quite difficult to answer the killings of the parasite though. He could only pay compensation and offer his respects. Maybe that was why Quinn was so eager to go find some terrible creature.
***
Mary was using every ounce of her mana to keep the blood in her body flowing. Her heart had been pierced, yet she forced it to keep pumping. This whole damn thing... it was a setup, those two bastards hadn't been assigners. They were bandits. She should've noticed it beforehand. Their uneasiness and eagerness to get her party hurried along. She fell silent as an arrow whizzed past her head. Striking the bark of a nearby tree.
She heard the rustle of bushes to her right, she raised her dagger.
I'll kill you all, come at me!
It was only then that a blob dashed past her. It was skittering and screeching.
She heard one bandit scream
"What the hell is that thing! Get it off!"
Another bandit shouted. "Use fire or something! Oyan use your fire!"
The horrible sounds of a massacre soon followed. Mary covered her mouth in horror. She thought the dungeons couldn't be much worse then the outskirts she grew up in. She was wrong... so very wrong.
Footsteps approached her, they were soft. Likely coming from weathered boots. She looked up, tears spilled down her eyes.
A bloodied man stood above her, a green organism writhed around his body. It was still chewing on the flesh of one of the bandits. He reached out, and Mary swiped with her dagger. The man flinched back
"Hey... its okay. You're safe now." The man's voice was soft, if a bit forced.
Mary didn't believe it for a second, she staggered back, but her mana had dried out. Her heart was giving out, she felt her eyelids grow heavy. She was going to die... how unfair, how so cruel of this world to be so unfair to her.
"Damn it all..." Mary muttered before collapsing to the ground. The last thing she could feel was a slither over her body.