Touch of Fate

Mike's internal squirming was interrupted by the sounds of the boss room doors opening. A desperate looking Philomena burst into the chamber, axes at the ready. She ran up to the group, checking each of them for injuries, before looking around in a panicked manner.

"Where's Devin?" She asked plaintively, even though the pained expression on her face demonstrated that she knew the answer.

"He didn't make it." Mike answered softly.

"We ended up fighting a trio of those lizards, and he was killed. Nearly died myself, but Mike was able to save me, just in time." Brenden added, a little more subdued than before. He wasn't sure of it, but Mike still sensed a sort of manic energy radiating from the young beastman.

Philomena seemed to age visibly at the news, despair evident in posture. She stared down at her hands, weighed down by her perceived failure.

"I promised....." She trailed, before rallying slightly. "At the very least, all of you are alright."

Her slightly relieved smile suddenly twists in anger. "Whose idea was it to challenge the boss by yourselves? Why didn't you wait for me like I asked?"

They entire group turned their eyes on Mike.

"Well, you see....the thing was....." He was having a hard time coming up with a decent excuse.

"The thing was what?" Philomena asked sharply, getting up into his face.

Mike leaned back, a little overwhelmed by the ferocity of her rebuke. "Well, we didn't know....if you were still alive."

She blinked and stepped back. "Why would you think that?"

"Tal told us how you sacrificed yourself, holding back a swarm of monsters. I figured that we had the option of waiting for you, trying to find you, or beating the boss and escaping the dungeon, and from there launching some kind of rescue mission."

Philomena glared at Tal who simply shrugged in response.

"Haaaa," She let out a deep sigh. "I hardly think those overgrown lizards posed any real threat to Rank 5, even if they were coming in droves. I told the three of them to head up the passage a bit and wait for me to finish them off. It would have been troublesome to defend them while fighting."

"So you're saying this is all a..."

"A misunderstanding, yes. I arrived in the previous room just in time to see the doors of the boss room close. Do you have any idea how I felt knowing that my students, my students without any experience in dungeons, were trying take on the fourth floor boss without me?!"

Mike could only shake his head.

Philomena sighed again. "Well, it doesn't matter I suppose. Let's get this group out of here for now. Where did the dungeon boss die?"

Mike pointed out the location, and the group walked over. A fist sized orange mana core was resting in the spot, and not too far away was a squarish metal container.

"Huh, I thought it would have been bigger." Mike commented while examining the crystal.

"Mana cores come in a variety of grades. For reasons that we don't completely understand, they appear in one of the seven colors of visible light, from red to violet. Red cores are the weakest and contain the least amount of energy, while violet ones are considered the most powerful, although it has been theorized that other colors might exist. From there, the relative size of the core determines its power and thus its value."

Mike nodded along, before switch his gaze to the box. "So, what do we do about that?"

"I'm assuming it wasn't here until you defeated the boss, is that correct?" Upon receiving an affirmative answer, she continued. "In that case it should be safe. Treasure chests that appear after a boss is defeated are almost never trapped, but it never hurts to have a trap expert examine it, should you happen to have one in your party."

She squatted down and examined it carefully. "Well I'm no expert, but it looks safe to me. I'm going to try opening it."

With a wave of her hand, she motioned the group to get behind her, as she used one of her axes to raise the lid of the chest in a direction away from anyone. When nothing in particular happened, she stepped forward to examine its contents.

"Impressive. This kind of loot rarely shows up on these low level floors." She held up a cloak made of deep red colored leather. The exterior layer had faint scale patterned markings.

Mike used Inspect.

{Salamander's Cloak}

Magic Item (Tier 2, Rank 4)

A dungeon created item. Supposedly made from the skin of a salamander, this cloak protects its wearer from fire. Provides complete immunity from non-magical fire, and moderate resistance to the effects of magical fire.

[That's rather potent for a Tier 2 item. I am beginning to see why adventurer's are so willing to risk their lives in dungeons. This cloak makes an entire elemental magic skill line significantly less useful.]

Philomena continued her lecture. "Typically an adventuring party would do one of two things when finding a magic item like this. One, they could sell it and split the proceeds. A cloak like this could easy go for several hundred if not a thousand gold."

The members of the group were astounded by the sheer magnitude of the wealth simply sitting in front of them.

"Two, if a member of the party has need of the item, or has perform well during the dungeon crawl, the party may give that item to that adventurer. Depending on the nature of the party, that adventurer would then compensate the rest of the group out of the general proceeds of the delve or later finds."

She paused to look around at the group. "Do you have an idea what you want to do?"

Lloyd hesitantly raised his hand. "Mike was the one that beat it. Tal and Brenden helped, but Rita and I were really just a burden. So, I think the three of them should decide." He tightened his grip on his spear. Rita was looking down at the ground.

"It should belong to Mike, Tal and I barely even wounded the creature." Brenden said with arms crossed.

Tal simply nodded her agreement.

Philomena shrugged and handed the cloak over to Mike, who promptly tried it on.

[Wow, this is really comfortable. The material is soft and smooth, but really seems really durable. It also appears to keep me cool, since the heat of this room no longer bothers me.]

"Well, I will take it, but on one condition. The rest of you have to split the proceeds of the boss's core and this one." Mike said while producing the fist-sized red crystal from the giant lizardman in the previous room.

"Agreed." Came a short and sweet reply from Tal.

Philomena clapped once. "Now that's settled, lets get you out of here."

"How do we do that?" Lloyd asked.

"Simple. Raise your guild marked hand into the air and say 'Home Portal Open." She said while demonstrating.

Another swirling mass of energy popped into existence in the same spot that the salamander's core was found.

"In the future, if you want to descend to the next level, do the same, but say 'Descent Portal Open.' Now come on, I want to see each of you go through this portal."

One by one the party stepped into the vortex of energy and disappeared. Finally, only Mike and Philomena were left. By this point her strong exterior had faded, leaving a tired and despairing woman, staring forlornly back into the dungeon.

He felt he needed to say something. "You know, we could go back in for his remains. Give him a proper funeral."

"If you left him, then there won't be anything left. Dungeon's feed on the bodies of slain adventurer's. Unless you collect their remains quickly, they will be absorbed." She answered in a flat emotionless voice. "Its something I know far too well."

Mike was at a loss for words. Nothing he had experienced in either of his lives had prepared him to deal with this kind of situation. Thankfully, Philomena proved to be as resilient as she looked.

"In truth, I need to thank you. Not only did you manage to protect the others, but you defeated a boss that would have been difficult even I had been there. Elementals like Lava Salamanders are like the natural enemy of pure warrior classes. I doubt I could have beaten it by myself, so it truly is quite an accomplishment for a Rank 3 adventurer. Even one with a ridiculous amount of magical power."

She turned to look at him then. "I think you will achieve great things in the future. I can feel that you've grown even more powerful simply from this short trip into the dungeon. Given time, I fully expect that you will find your place among the great figures that will shape the future of this world."

Mike felt his hairs raise, a strange feeling of foreboding washing over him.

Philomena continued. "Just remember the lessons you have learned from this experience." And without another word she walked through portal.

Mike took one last look around the chamber.

[I asked for an eventful life, but I guess I didn't really understand what that meant.]

He rested his hands behind his head. [Oh well, I guess I can only try to make the best of it.]

He briefly checked his [Status], and was once again astounded by the changes he saw, before turning and stepping through the portal.

--------------

[Status]

Michael Rasmussen

Race: Human

Age: 15

Class: Skill Master

Tier: 2 (High)

Title: None

Multiverse Traveler

Blessed One

Hunter of Renown

Battlefield Healer

Kal'Thel

Philanderer

Hero

Dungeon Savior (NEW)

Undinekath (NEW)

--------------

Skills

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Primary Skills:

Communication Magic (Rank 2)

Intermediate Healing Magic (Rank 1) (TIER UP)

Inspect (Rank 4) (RANK UP)

Initiate Almiran Military Swordsmanship (Rank 5) (RANK UP)

Intermediate Water Magic (Rank 1) (TIER UP)

Intermediate Fire Magic (Rank 2) (RANK UP)

Basic Air Magic (Rank 1)

Blood Collector (Rank 1)

--------------

Secondary Skills:

Lifestyle Magic (Rank 0)

Advanced Lovemaking (Rank 3)

Athletics (Rank 1) (TIER UP)

Intermediate Evasion (Rank 1) (TIER UP)

Basic Dagger Fighting (Rank 2)

Basic Spear Fighting (Rank 4) (RANK UP)

Intermediate Sword Fighting (Rank 1) (TIER UP)

Intermediate Elemental Magic (Rank 2) (RANK UP)

Basic Riding (Rank 3)

Basic Haggling (Rank 1) (NEW)

Basic Musical Performance (Wind Instrument) (Rank 2) (NEW)

--------------

Passive Skills:

Basic Fear Resistance (Rank 5) (RANK UP)

Basic Physiological Resistance (Rank 4) (RANK UP)

Basic Poison Resistance (Rank 3)

Basic Heat Resistance (Rank 3) (RANK UP)

Minor Mana Enhancement (Rank 5)

Minor Mana Regeneration Enhancement (Rank 3) (RANK UP)

Moderate Endurance Enhancement (Rank 1)

Minor Agility Enhancement (Rank 5) (RANK UP)

Minor Strength Enhancement (Rank 5) (RANK UP)

Limit Break (Rank 1)

--------------

Inherent Skills:

Traveler's Luck

Fate-Touched

(BC) Vampiric Regeneration, Lesser

--------------

- Dungeon Challenger -

You have challenged the dangers of a dungeon floor beyond your capacities. Despite this, you have emerged victorious. Minor increase to Endurance while inside a dungeon. Minor increase to the acquisition and improvement of skills inside a dungeon.

- Undinekath -

You achieved a true connection with the Elemental Source of Water. Whether achieved at a moment of breakthrough or by channeling a pure elemental force, you are now forever marked by this connection. You are favored both by water itself, and water elementals of all kinds. Moderate increase to the effectiveness of Water Elemental Magic and charisma when interacting with water elementals. Allows air breathing creatures to breath underwater.

- Intermediate Healing Magic (Tier 3, Rank 1) -

An intermediate form of True Healing Magic. By channeling pure mana into the bodies of the injured, practitioners of Intermediate Healing Magic can stimulate and supplement natural healing processes, allowing recipients to recover from virtually all forms of injury. Higher skill ranks allow for the healing of more severe injuries and lowers the overall mana cost of healing.

Rank 1 Effects: Cleansing Wave

- Cleansing Wave -

Practitioners of Intermediate Healing Magic can alter the life mana they use to heal injuries, allowing them to remove foreign entities and substances from their patients. Recipients are cleansed of all non-magical disease and poison.

- Intermediate Water Magic (Tier 2, Rank 1) -

One of the most basic forms of Elemental Magic. Water magic allows the user to create and manipulate water. It is characterized by flexibility in both offense and defense, but lacks the overt power of other types of magic. Higher skill levels increase the mana efficiency and power of the magic produced.

Rank 1 Effects: Adaptive Control

- Adaptive Control -

Water is fluid both in form and spirit. By utilizing this flexibility of purpose, Intermediate Water Mages learn to exercise their will over more than just water, gaining the ability to control almost all liquids to some extent. Substances that are more heavily associated with other elements are more difficult to control.

- Athletics (Tier 2, Rank 1) -

It is through constant training and practice that true athletes are born. Minor increase to Strength, Agility, and Endurance for the purpose of performing any demanding physical task.

- Intermediate Evasion (Tier 2, Rank 1) -

The art of not getting hit. Moderate increase to Agility when seeking to evade blows and potential hazards. Agility gain determined by skill rank.

- Intermediate Sword Fighting (Tier 2, Rank 1) -

A more advanced skill of the Sword Fighting tree. Provides users with fundamental understanding of using swords and other, similar weapons in combat. Minor system correction to the usage of swords in combat.