After making a list of the hopefuls and their respective group-combat roles, Garath planned to accompany two groups on two different little-d dungeon runs the next day. Raust would tank the first one with Curly on healing duty. He marked Fergus for one of the damage roles and then decided to bring Warrion along as the fifth and final member of the group. Even if these little-d dungeons were going to play the role of a tryout location, Garath knew they could still be deadly. Having the gangly Assassin along would make him feel much better about doing a dungeon run with an otherwise under-experienced group. While it was true that the Necrologist had fought side-by-side with everyone that had been a part of the Raid, he wasn’t sure how many of them had any experience whatsoever with a more structured, five-man dungeon.
The second group would be tanked by Steve-oooooh who, like Gary, had chosen the Armoron Class. Having almost no faith in the man’s tanking ability, Garath knew he’d have to coach the guy through the dungeon - but if the guy picked it up and followed directions well enough, he could still be an option for the Dungeon team. He marked Sharon down as the healer for this second group. Having a solid healer along would make a world of difference in covering for this group’s inexperienced tank. He marked NickCarter to fill a damage role, and was genuinely interested to see the Huntsman Class in action. To round out the second group, Garath decided to see if he could get Athios to come along. The dark-eyed Dimensionalist clearly deserved a slot on the final Dungeon team with or without a tryout, but he would love to have her around with this group just to make sure everyone came back in one piece.
He paused to consider Andrea and the Spirit Master Class, shaking his feathers to shed some water. He navigated his MENU panels to reread the Class description and found it rather interesting. Apparently, the Wisdom-based Class only had two schools of magic. Essence allowed the Spirit Master to restore Heath to herself or her allies, and Reaping gave her Skills and Abilities that called attacks and even summoned creatures from the netherworld. It sounded pretty badass to Garath and he wondered how the Spirit Master Class didn't make it to his final three when choosing his own Class. He really wished he hadn't been so stoned when the world decided to end. He looked at his notes again, then scratched Warrion's name off of group one and mentally typed in Andréa as the fifth member. He'd have the Spirit Master play a primarily damage-dealing role with instructions to assist with healing and support whenever necessary.
After looking over his tryout rosters a final time, Garath felt pretty good about his set up. He willed open his World Map, searching for suitable dungeons for each group. Garath noticed that since he had done his first dungeon search, several new dungeons had been added to the Map, most within a reasonable distance to make the flight from the stronghold. Garath wondered how many more dungeons would appear out of nowhere over the days to come.
The closest was on Hat Island, a small circular island only a few nautical miles west from HQ. Garath remembered watching a documentary about the tiny teardrop of land, known officially as Gedney Island, but he couldn’t recall anything specific about the history, other than its size of roughly 400 acres. The dungeon was called ‘Chuchusullay’, and the world Map informed him that it had a five-person maximum, with a suggested Level of 28 to 30. He decided that this particular dungeon would not be ideal for tryouts, but could definitely prove beneficial once the members of the Dungeon team were chosen, and they needed to make a final push to Level 30 before taking on the Tower.
Opposite Hat Island, about 100 miles east of their stronghold was another dungeon in a location that Garath recognized as Leavenworth, a Bavarian-styled town with a popular Oktoberfest. The system deemed the dungeon located there ‘Secret Level’. Garath wasn’t sure what to make of that, but because the Level requirement was between 21 and 23, the Necrologist marked it as a tryout location before scanning the map for more options.
North of the Leavenworth dungeon was another dungeon in place of what had been a national park in Glacier Peak. The dungeon’s name was ‘Molten Glacier Peak’, which Garath thought sounded like a bit of an oxymoron. The information provided by his world Map suggested Levels 19 to 21, and Garath marked Molten Glacier Peak as a definite tryout location.
To the east, between the poorly named Molten Glacier Peak and BoTH's inviolate Guild Hall, another dungeon icon caught Garath’s eye, ‘The Rolling Deep’. It also had a five-person maximum and suggested Levels 17 to 20. To Garath, based on the geographical location denoted on his Map, it looked to be near the Big Four Ice Caves, a group of gorgeous glacial crevices he remembered exploring as a kid. He marked this dungeon as another great option for tryouts.
In fact, he’d take both groups to The Rolling Deep the next day. They'd be safer traveling in a larger group anyways, and it would drastically cut down on Garath's next-day muscle soreness if he only had to make one trip. Even so, the iconic Ice Caves were a solid 50 miles or so to the east. If he helped everyone unlock their Osprey BeastScape forms, they'd be able to move much faster than they could in Crow form, but the trip would still take over an hour each way.
Garath went through the stockpile of canned food stored in his Items panel to make sure that he had enough on him to provide everyone with a lunch, considering it would be an all-day affair. A quick check showed he had more than enough to feed the group. That handled, Garath sent a message to each of the hopefuls that he'd selected for tomorrow's tryouts. He told them to meet him on his clifftop an hour after sunrise, right about 6:00AM as measured by what had been called Pacific Standard Time before the apocalypse. He was anything but a morning person, but an early start would be important if they hoped to complete the dungeon with the first group, then wait the mandatory one-hour period for the instance to reset, get through it again with the second group, and make it back to HQ all in a single day.
Garath's eyes were still tiredly watching the eastbound World Boss, the tall pillar of smoke ever in its wake barely distinguishable now in the twilight. There, on the branch of a tall cedar, within the protected 10-meter radius of the Guild Hall, he drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Eight – Rolling in the Deep
Garath opened his eyes, still heavy with sleep in the predawn blush just before the sun's emergence. What he saw didn't make any damn sense. He looked left to see the largest beetle he'd ever seen.
He glanced right, then down. Really far down. Everything was out of focus, including the brain trying in vain to process the nonsense information his eyes were sending it. Between his irrational fear of bugs and the vertigo blurring his peripherals, dizziness overtook him, and he lost his footing. He reached desperately to grab hold of a branch and slow his fall, then saw his outstretched wing. Instead of grasping with fingers he only spread feathers. With an internal eye roll, Garath realized that he must have fallen asleep on the branch, in Osprey form. It was a good thing, because a second later and no amount of coffee would have been able to salvage his morning. Garath pulled out of his freefall by arching his back and spreading his wings, then quickly pumped them to gain altitude. He felt a silent call within his mind, drawing him to the clifftop a few blocks to the north.
A quick look to the east let Garath know that the monstrous Rum’bah had continued his march inland through the night. A lush trail of vibrant green foliage traced his path, eventually meeting the pillar of smoke that obscured the turtle from view perhaps half a mile away. Garath made his way to his clifftop to get a start on the day.
After watering his egg at sunrise for the second time, Garath felt the new presence grow stronger within his mind. He could feel its roots growing beneath the damp earth, drinking in the high quality well water that Garath poured onto it. He smiled, feeling an affection for the little seed he couldn't explain, then wished it a good day and started preparing a fire for morning coffee on the other side of the fallen, moss-covered tree.
Garath felt great. He'd had a rough start to the day, but he felt good about what the day had in store. And hey, he even learned something new: n
ever fall asleep as a bird. Noted. He’d never been the type to see the silver lining, but it felt good to look at things that way. Garath decided to try to do that more often, but knew he’d probably forget.
In ones and twos the hopefuls arrived, greeted by the Necrologist with an energetic ‘good morning’ and a cup of his Crystillium-Infused Coffee. The sweet brown liquid was appreciated by each of the eight guests on Garath’s clifftop, if their unintelligible mumbles of thanks were anything to go by. After half a minute, the stimulant began to work its magic, and everyone was wide awake. Garath took that time to relay the plan for the day and help each of them unlock their own Osprey form.
Not twenty minutes after meeting on the cliff top overlooking the ocean north of the Guild Hall, nine people in their new Osprey forms took flight, heading east toward their destination, The Rolling Deep. The journey was uneventful, but Garath caught a glimpse of two additional Vy’thishrak Emissaries moving over the landscape, just as slowly as Rum’bah. They were transforming the land of what, thanks to some reading in the Harbinger’s Assembly forums, Garath knew to be the Vy’thishrak territory. Garath wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but considering the already numerous alterations to the planet he wasn’t even sure if he had an opinion at all.
They landed near what had to be the dungeon’s entrance, a shimmering plateau of ice above and between the two larger Ice Caves. Garath wondered if he’d be able to keep his head in the game if he used his natural form to complete the dungeon runs. He was fairly certain he could keep a handle on himself. Besides, the new, stronger presence he felt as a white light near the base of his skull gave him the confidence he needed to try it. He could always shift into his Crow or Osprey forms if he started to feel himself losing control.
His natural form wasn’t nearly as soiled by the taint as his House Cat form was, after all. While assuming the form of the diminutive white cat, the Necrologist nearly took on a completely different persona. It was still his favorite combat form though, and provided a 30% reduction in Mana costs to all Skills. He wouldn’t shy away from using it in a pinch, but today Garath would try to remain in his human form, and avoid casting any additional spells with the extra cost of a tainted soul.
They shifted forms and had a short conversation, leaving Athios, Steve-oooooh, Sharon, and NickCarter to wait nearby while Garath, Raust, Fergus, Curly, and Andrea took a step through the shimmering portal. Garath shivered when his rematerialization was complete, now inside The Rolling Deep. He took in his new surroundings. Fitting name.
The Necrologist and his Party were in a landing area, not unlike the circular cavern he’d started in for the Aquawood Depths dungeon at the ruined mall a few days before. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all made up of the same ice formations that held the portal to the dungeon on the plateau outside. There was a single exit, a door-sized hole carved into a wall of white ice on the far side of the cavern.
The walls of the cave were translucent, distorted like a bathroom window. Garath had to squint to make out what was beyond the cave wall behind them, opposite the single exit. The cave was underwater, that much was certain. Inhabited water. On the other side of the ice to his right, a massive, dark shape swam by, its tail pronged with enormous spikes. It paid them no mind, apparently uninterested in the five people standing in the cavern only a few feet away.
His demons awaiting orders by his side, Garath waved Raust forward and into the dungeon proper. The Party’s tank nodded and moved to the doorway with his shield raised and the rest of the Party following behind. Garath had given a basic explanation of five-man Party dynamics during their commute and made sure everyone was reasonably confident in their respective roles. Because the Necrologist had one demon that was a melee fighter and one that was a caster, he instructed the Party to use them as positioning guides if they were ever in doubt of where they should be standing. Bill and Fergus followed just behind Raust. Andrea and Curly stayed by Garath’s side, a few feet behind the swollen mace-wielder with Handsome hovering casually to the Necrologist’s other side. Beyond the landing zone was a world of white.
Garath shivered when he entered the room, his breath visible with each exhalation. The temperature felt close to zero degrees Fahrenheit. He had to squint to protect his eyes from the sheer brightness of all the white surrounding him. The square room had low ceilings, only a foot or two above the heads of the Party, held up by columns placed sporadically throughout. It was a large room, perhaps the size of four city blocks. All of it a brightly glowing, eye-stabbing white.
He spotted four irregularities in the blinding room. In each corner, a light-blue platform hovered a few inches off the ground. There weren’t any doors or passageways that Garath could make out, so he assumed these platforms would be the key to moving on to the next part of the dungeon. After a few seconds of taking in their new surroundings, the Party noticed movement here and there between the white columns. The inhabitants, whether by coincidence or design, were camouflaged perfectly.
The white forms were nearly indistinguishable from their surroundings, only becoming apparent when Garath’s eyes moved over them. He felt the instinctual knowledge that he could trigger Inspect on something in his line of sight, and did exactly that on the nearest monster he could find in this underground refrigerator.
Ice Elemental
Elemental
Health: 1,800/1,800
Level: 18
Station: none
Mana: 650/650
Description: Evolved from a Water Elemental, an Ice Elemental has increased armor and is able to fire shards of its own body to defend itself. It can use Mana to heal itself of any injury if provided with sufficient time.
They engaged an Ice Elemental not ten feet from the room’s entrance. When Raust got close enough to get its attention, they all got a better look at one of the foes they’d have to dispatch here in The Rolling Deep. It didn’t have any legs to walk on. Instead, its torso tapered into something of a fluffy tail that hovered a few inches off the ground. The Elemental didn’t move incredibly fast, but the damage that it inflicted on Raust with the spikes of ice it rapid fired was fairly impressive. Nearly a fifth of the tank’s red Healthbar was ripped away each time he failed to block a spike of ice from the Elemental. By Garath’s rough mental count, Raust failed to get his shield up in time or to the right position nearly half of the time.
Curly struggled to keep the Legionnaire at or near full Health. At first, he followed Garath’s advice to only cast the smallest of his three healing spells in order to conserve Mana unless the need was dire. When Raust took two back-to-back ice spikes to the chest, Curly quickly switched to a repeated casting of the higher-cost Greater Heal, depleting his Mana bar within a few casts.
Garath, Handsome, and Andrea sent spells from the entryway while Fergus and Bill moved to the Elemental’s rear and took swings and chomps of opportunity. The fight was rather boring, in Garath’s opinion, but it was over quickly and he felt the surge of Experience Points as the lifeless body of the Ice Elemental fell to the ground where it was immediately absorbed into the floor.
Begin combat log:
[You have been awarded 4,731 Experience Points for slaying Level 18 Ice Elemental]
End combat log.
The Experience Points were higher than Garath had expected, considering the relative ease with which they were able to down the Elemental. After Garath’s quick explanation of the teal orb hovering where the dungeon mob had died, Raust poked it with one finger and the Party received their share of the Mana Crystals awarded for the kill.
You have received .3 Mana Crystals.
Mana Crystals will be stored in your Items panel until spent, traded, or until your death.
Led by Raust, the Party moved systematically through the too-bright room. On Garath’s order, they agreed to clear the room of every Elemental they could find before meeting back at the entryway to discuss their next step. The process was straightforward, and the Party’s pace was steady. Ra
ust did a decent job holding the attention of one Elemental at a time. Unfortunately, the few times that the Party accidentally got the attention of two or more of the ice-hurling creatures, the Legionnaire quickly lost the attention of his first target while attempting to secure aggro on the others. During those times, Garath sent Bill to hold the attention of one Elemental until the Party could bring down the one that Raust had lost control of. Curly fell behind on healing when any two or more Party members took damage, but Andrea was quick to assist the Hallowed Knight in refilling everyone’s Health. She even tossed a healing spell at Bill when the Cambionic Fel Hound’s Healthbar began to get low, something that she must have heard Garath ask Curly to do if he had the Mana to spare.
After an hour or so of combatting Ice Elementals, the Party was as sure as they could be that the bright-white room was clear of its camouflaged inhabitants. Garath was unimpressed with both Raust and Curly, but the Party got the job done. Fergus displayed more restraint and patience than Garath had expected from the big man. The Brawler placed each swing of his large mace deliberately in order to maximize his damage output while also minimizing the chance of friendly fire. Unfortunately, the Ice Elementals were fairly small creatures at just over four feet tall, leaving less room for melee attacks than a larger creature would have. Even so, each time he smashed his big two-hander into one of the Elementals, the chunk ripped from its Healthbar was obvious to anyone watching.
Andrea surprised Garath with her attentiveness, as well as the versatility of the Spirit Master Class. The group didn’t stop to chat much, but from the few conversations they’d had when the group needed to stop to recover Health, Mana, or Stamina, he learned that Andrea had been a grade school teacher before the apocalypse. She looked the part too, between the floral-print dress she’d been wearing since The Culling and the frizzy bush of brown curls she called hair. The Spirit Master’s occasional spot heals made it look at first glance that Curly was doing a much better job than he really was. Additionally, Andrea had a buff spell that allowed her to increase a single Attribute of a Party member by 50% for ten seconds. When timed well, and used to increase Garath’s Wisdom, the buff made him feel like a total badass. The combat log in his peripherals showed some pretty incredible numbers while the short term buff was active, which made sense considering his spell damage was based on Wisdom. Unfortunately, from what Garath had seen so far, Andrea had very little chance of making the Dungeon team in the role of a damage-dealer. The single time that Garath had seen her attacking an Elemental without the added damage from either Fergus, Raust, or himself, it was a major let down. The Spirit Master called up ghosts from the ground as her main form of damage. Each specter would come screaming up from the ice, slashing at the target with claw-tipped hands, and continue up until they disappeared into the ceiling. As cool as the visual sequence was to watch, the Elemental’s Healthbar barely moved. He made a mental note to have Andrea try out again as a healer if she didn’t make the team under the damage-dealing category.
The Tree of Ascension: A LitRPG Apocalypse (Peril's Prodigy Book 2) Page 7