Divine Awakening

Ash returned the stares of the nineteen people gathered around the tunnel entrance. Notifications appeared, and unsure of what to say in the sudden silence, he glanced at them.

Ping!

You have gained the following Title...

Title: Backache

Quality: Rare

Requirement: Carry your party by defeating three or more creatures double your level solo while in a dungeon party of 20 or more, none of whom aided in the fight.

Attribute Bonus: +10% Constitution, +10% Strength, +5% Nimbleness, +5% Charisma

Effect (Triggered): Fool Me Once - Once per week, summon the entire party to your location.

Ash suppressed a smile at the Title and quickly looked at the next notification.

Ping!

You have gained the following Title...

Title: Power Leveling

Quality: Legendary

Requirement: Level an entire dungeon party of 20 or more by soloing three or more mobs double your level without leveling yourself.

Effect (Passive): Dungeon experience increased by 30%.

Effect (Triggered): Leecher - Once per week, mark a creature and gain all resulting experience if killed within 5 minutes.

This Title had a quality of Legendary and gave him a thirty percent bonus to experience. That was an incredible benefit and made losing the experience for these mobs inconsequential. He almost felt a little guilty since these accomplishments only occurred because they were all at such a low level.

The shocked and terrified expressions on everyone’s faces caused Ash to look down at himself.

The only items that hadn’t been shredded by the beetles were the Belt of Swans and the Shadow Skin Bracer. Now Ash really regretted not getting that cleaning spell. His skin itched from all the dried blood. It had been a long time since he’d taken so much damage.

The presence of the others explained why Ash hadn’t gotten as much experience as he’d expected, but who cared about that since he’d gotten two incredible Titles from the situation.

Nomad quietly gave orders to his team, which broke the spell.

Patch and Stitch moved toward Ash, carefully walking on all the blood which had made the floor slick.

To Ash’s left, eleven swirling sandstorms appeared.

“Yes!” Ash said, pumping his fist.

Everyone froze at the sudden sound, which echoed loudly off the domed roof.

“Sorry,” Ash said, looking around at everyone. “Eleven loot drops is the most I’ve seen so far.”

Both medics reached Ash, and Patch held out a canteen.

“Thanks,” Ash said. He wasn’t terribly thirsty, but his mouth tasted like blood and scarab guts.

The whizzing sound of a tiny drone zipped past Ash as Blueprint used a controller to send the drone up one of the other tunnels. She studied her controller, which must have had a display from the drone. He wondered how long that type of technology would last down here.

Ash tossed his pack to Nomad, who caught it near the entrance and carefully set it against the wall. Nomad gave further directions, and more people fanned out before he strode toward Ash.

Kneeling, Ash waved his hand through all the illusions hiding their loot, revealing them all immediately. With enemies following them they needed to get moving, which meant not enjoy the anticipation of opening each drop.

Ash focused on each piece of loot long enough to get the details.

Name: Scarab Shell Shield

Quality: Rare

Armor Class: 150

Description: A shield crafted from the hardened shells of Scarab Guardians, offering superior defense against physical attacks.

Effect (Passive): +10% Physical Damage Resistance

Effect (Triggered): Reflective Carapace - Once per hour, reflect 20% of incoming physical damage back to the attacker.

Name: Guardian’s Gauntlets

Quality: Uncommon

Armor Class: 50

Description: Heavy gauntlets made from the claws of Scarab Guardians, enhancing the wearer’s strength and grip.

Effect (Passive): +5 Strength

Effect (Triggered): Crushing Grip - Once per hour, double the wearer’s melee damage for 10 seconds.

Name: Scarab Cloak

Quality: Special

Armor Class: 75

Description: A cloak woven with threads imbued with Scarab Guardian essence, making the wearer blend into their surroundings.

Effect (Passive): +10% Stealth in underground or sandy environments

Effect (Triggered): Sand Veil - Once per hour, create a dust cloud that obscures vision, reducing enemy accuracy by 15% for 10 seconds.

Name: Scarab Ring of Regeneration

Quality: Rare

Description: A ring carved from the core of a Scarab Guardian, granting the wearer enhanced durability.

Effect (Passive): +10% Health Regeneration

Effect (Triggered): Guardian’s Resilience - Once per day, reduce all incoming damage by 50% for 3 seconds.

Name: Scarab Quiver

Quality: Rare

Description: A quiver made from the carapace of Scarab Guardians, increasing the lethality of arrows.

Effect (Passive): +10% Arrow Damage

Effect (Triggered): Burrowing Arrow - Once per hour, fire an arrow that deals 20% extra damage and has a 10% chance to ignore armor.

Name: Scarab Guardian Helm

Quality: Uncommon

Armor Class: 75

Description: A helm made from the skull of a Scarab Guardian, offering superior protection and mental clarity.

Effect (Passive): +5 Intelligence

Effect (Triggered): Guardian’s Focus - Once per hour, clear all mental debuffs and increase spellcasting speed by 10% for 15 seconds.

Name: Scarab Guardian Boots

Quality: Rare

Armor Class: 50

Description: Boots crafted from Scarab Guardian scales, allowing the wearer to move swiftly and silently.

Effect (Passive): +10% Movement Speed

Effect (Triggered): Sand Strider - Once per hour, ignore terrain effects for 30 seconds, allowing for swift movement over any surface.

Name: Scarab Guardian Sword

Quality: Special

Damage: 8-12 Slashing

Description: A sword forged from the claws of a Scarab Guardian, sharp enough to cut through the toughest armor.

Effect (Passive): +15% Armor Penetration

Effect (Triggered): Guardian’s Strike - Once per hour, unleash a powerful slash that deals 150% damage to all enemies in front of you.

Name: Scarab Guardian’s Ring

Quality: Uncommon

Description: A ring made from the core essence of a Scarab Guardian, enhancing the wearer’s stamina and resilience.

Effect (Passive): +5 Constitution

Effect (Triggered): Last Stand - Once per day, automatically heal 20% of your maximum health when you drop below 10%.

Name: Scroll of Imbue Magic

Quality: Fine

Charges: 3

Description: Place a hand on any item and activate the Scroll of Imbue Magic to turn an ordinary item into something magical.

Effect (Consumable): Convert mundane items of Uncommon quality or better into magical ones.

When Ash touched the last pile of square coins, he glanced at his log and confirmed he’d been given one-twentieth of the total as his share, with an extra ten percent because of the Chosen Title bonus. Now he had another twenty-two coppers.

Ash’s Inventory display confirmed his guess. These twenty-two coppers had taken his total to one hundred ten coppers. His Inventory, however, listed one silver and ten copper, so the exchange rate, at least in these early coins, was one hundred to one. It was also very nice that the dungeon automatically converted the coins.

“Are you okay?” Nomad asked Ash as he approached. He looked around at all the blood. “This looks bad.”

“I think that’s from all the spinning,” Ash responded. “It sprayed blood everywhere. It looks worse than it is.”

Nomad locked eyes with Stitch, not trusting Ash’s appraisal.

“He’s fine,” Stitch replied to the unasked question. “Despite enough visible blood for five bodies.”

“Probably more like ten,” Patch added, “if you consider the blood covering the beetles and all the blood that drained down those channels. It’s still draining away, actually.”

Ash studied the floor and pushed a pile of bloody scarabs away with his foot. Patch had spoken the truth, as Ash could feel the small grooves with his bare feet now.

“That’s weird,” Ash whispered.

Nomad glanced over his shoulder and spoke just loud enough to carry. “Oracle, Wiki, do you recognize this pattern?”

Oracle and Wiki, along with Syntax and Babel, had been studying the stone doors that covered the perimeter of the room. Now the two paranormal and occult specialists focused on the floor. They both came further into the chamber and used their feet to clear the dead beetles.

“I think those will decay faster if we take this loot,” Ash said.

“That’s all yours, Shamrock,” Nomad responded.

“No, there’s a ring in there the medics can use and a quiver for one of the archers. There’s a spell scroll in there that might make the rifles work longer down here. I’ll take the boots and cloak, and you divvy up the rest.”

“Are you sure?” Nomad asked.

“Positive. In fact, I have a whip and amulet I got off that eel you can have as well. They’re in my pack.”

Ash grabbed the boots and cloak and walked over to one of the lower tunnels. He found some sand not caked in his blood and used it to scrub his feet clean. He would get socks later; for now, he pulled the boots on.

Just like the bracer, the boots grew until they fit perfectly. Ash ripped the remainder of his t-shirt off as well as the plaid shirt that had been around his waist. His jeans were tattered as well, but he left them alone for now.

Ash wrapped the cloak around his waist, and it shrunk to keep from touching the ground. He’d put it over his shoulders once he had a shirt.

With all the new Titles and the extra gear, Ash quickly studied his basic Stats.

Physical Attributes

Constitution: 26

Strength: 24

Nimbleness: 33

Charisma: 14

Mental Attributes

Intelligence: 17

Wisdom: 22

Awareness: 28

Willpower: 19

Armor Class

Physical: 185

Spiritual: 10

“Shamrock,” Nomad called.

Ash jogged over to Nomad, who stood next to Oracle and Wiki, who argued in hushed whispers.

Nomad didn’t say anything but pointed.

Ash followed the direction and didn’t understand what Nomad wanted him to see. The chamber sloped upward from the basin they stood in until it ended in the narrow walkway that circled the chamber. The stone doors followed this walkway, and he could see Syntax and Babel studying the doors.

It took Ash another three seconds to understand. All his blood at the bottom of the basin had been drawn upward in some type of capillary process and had filled in the etchings that covered the basin wall. The blood-filled design disappeared at the walkway.

“The doors,” Nomad said.

Ash looked a little higher and finally understood. The blood had continued across the walkway and had climbed the walls, creating red script around the doors. He quickly turned and found his blood had climbed upward around the entire chamber.

“What in the hell,” Ash whispered.

Then, like fireworks going off, explosions of light filled the chamber as the doors pulsed with bright multi-colored light. In seconds, the entire room had become vastly brighter.

Ash’s blood had reached all the stone doors—and opened them.