Chapter 21 Part 4 of 6 (Patreon)

“Well shit.” Erik pulled out his helmet and put it on. The formations activated inside.

Rugrat pulled on his helmet as well, their faces hidden behind formations and enhanced metal.

“You hear me?” Rugrat asked.

“Loud and clear, you good to go?”

“One sec, prepping grenades.” Rugrat looped a drop down panel to his carrier and tied it around his left leg, it had ten pouches filled with twist-top grenades.

Erik checked his larger medical kit and checked the back of Rugrat’s gear making sure everything was secure.

“Good to go.”

They walked through the open dungeon doors.

Light flashed and they were in a large cavern.

Rugrat grunted.

Erik took the increased pressure well. The gravity change wasn’t sever but with the high elements it was harder.

With their tempered bodies Erik and Rugrat were able to offset it.

They were all on alert, George and Gilly were practically glowing with power as they looked around.

Erik turned the other way.

“Wall!”

He turned back scanning with Rugrat.

Water was dripping down somewhere in the cavern, a kind of moss grew in random places creating bright spots and abyss-dark shadows.

The ground was un even, filled with divots and half-steps and drops. Shards of stone stuck up and the roof was lumpy rock, carved out in some places and hanging low in others.

Several entrances led into the cavern they were standing in.

“Love what they’ve done with the place.”

==========

Capture Dungeon

==========

Capture different areas within the dungeon.

The more areas you capture, the more dungeon creatures will attack.

Kills and holding more area will get you dungeon points, redeemable through dungeon kiosk

Escape the dungeon by crushing your dungeon medallion (found next the the obelisk) You will lose 20% of gained experience.

==========

Capture Area 1

==========

In the middle of the cavern a pillar lit up with the number 1 above it. There was a table with the medallions.

Erik grabbed them putting them onto his carrier, then Rugrats then onto Gilly and George.

A notification floated in his vision as a circle on the totem turned green and started to light up.

==========

Capture Area 1

==========

1/100

==========

The circle kept on growing as they all faced outward, looking and listening.

“The hell is that?” Rugrat asked.

Erik hear a noise in the distance, like heels on a hardwood floor.

“Your new ex?”

A creature that looked like a dust-mite but was a few thousand times the size scrambled around a corner.

Erik turned to face it but Gilly had locked onto it.

Several Earth spikes compressed until they shone burst out of the ground with a release of compressed water vapor.

Five spikes failed to penetrate but three did.

New spikes rose from the ground, slamming the dust mite against the ceiling. Using the compression of the ceiling and the power of the earth the spike cracked the mite’s exo-skeleton, driving through and embedding into the ceiling.

==========

Capture Area 1

==========

27/100

==========

Erik heard more of the mite’s pointed feet hitting the ground.

Rugrat fired, the helmets deadened the sound as it bounced off of the cavern.

The unlucky mite showed a hole in its head and its back blew out, covering the tunnel behind it.

Erik fired at another mite that appeared, the firstround broke its exoskeleton, the second went through, killing the beast.

George released a blast of flame that melted a mite’s armor and the ground around it. Their rate of attacks picked up.

Erik switched between three tunnels, mites were pushing past their fading brethren. He’d killed about twelve of the mites and scanned the area, his weapon lowered.

“Clear on my side!” Rugrat yelled.

“Same here!” Erik yelled.

No hard beasts. Gilly relayed into Erik’s mind as she let out a yip.

George did the same.

==========

Capture Area 1

==========

100/100

==========

The pillar they were standing next to showed a complete green circle.

==========

Capture Area 2

==========

0/100

==========

“Guess we have to go and find the next one.” Rugrat said.

“Hold up, let me check out these big bastards before we move on.”

“Got you covered.”

Erik moved to the nearest one.

“Okay what the hell are you?” He used organic scan, then inorganic scan, filtered through his elemental and mana sight.

“From what I can tell, this thing is Earth and Metal attribute. Strong exo, not so strong internally. These antenna are highly element sensitive. If there is a spike in element they’ll lock onto it and go after it. I don’t think that they really eat anything.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think they just draw in the Earth and Metal element and that’s what keeps them alive.”

“Don’t creatures need food?”

“Not necessarily. Elemental energy can restore your body. If I have enough elements I won’t get hungry for years, possibly forever. Though I’d need a lot of elements and to not do much.”

“So wait, will it eat us?” Rugrat asked.

“Probably, beasts eat one another for their elements to increase their monster core. We always thought they were trying to get one another’s mana and experience in the past.”

“So, still dangerous, and weird.”

“Yes. And they have bodies that are nearly as strong as Sky Iron  Before we step into the area around the next capture point, let Gilly and I put up some barriers,” Erik said.

“Works for me.”

Gilly and George reducing down to the size of large dogs. Erik quickly checked his experience bar a smile spread across his face. Its sweet fighting stronger beasts.

==========

You have reached Level 63

==========

When you sleep next, you will be able to increase your attributes by: 5 points.

==========

==========

18,484,039/217,100,000 EXP till you reach Level 64

==========

“Okay, where the hell do we go?” Erik said.

“I think its higher in mana down that tunnel.” Rugrat gestured to a tunnel witht eh barrel of his rifle “You take the front, Gilly, George in the middle I can be at the rear.”

“Lets go,” Erik headed towards the tunnel nestling his rifle tighter into his shoulder. He scanned the tunnel as he walked down it. The others followed behind closely.

“Turn to the left, piecing the pie.”

Erik aimed around the corner, taking steps to the side coming into line with the corner. In a burst he stepped out.

“Clear!” He pushed down the new tunnel, it dipped down but there was more light ahead.

He scanned the area ahead seeing nothing moving.

“Gilly you look right I’ll look left.”

Master

He stepped out with Gilly, churning up the gravel and mud, looking out along the wall, still there was nothing.

The room was smaller with a mound in the middle with another pillar The ground was a gravel-mud soup.  The walls and three other tunnels were made of worn rock with compressed clay in between. Some of the rocks glowed red, as if they were still partially magma. Others were covered in the glowing green moss.

“Bit tighter than the other one,” Rugrat said.

“We’ll get some spikes set up around the mound and in the tunnels. Keep a watch.”

“On it.”

Erik connected to the ground at the entrance of the tunnels. He found solid stone, guiding it upwards to the other rocks, he fused them together and pushed into the tunnel. Securing the spikes to the immovable rock beneath would make it nearly impossible for a beast to shift the spikes.

The sharpened stakes of stone and metal appeared from the ground. Erik conjured flames around the spikes hardening and tempering them.

Gilly was drawing up other spikes. George used his flames to temper them.

Erik took out poison and poured it out into the air. With mana manipulation he grabbed it out of the air and coated the spikes.

He rose blocks from the bed rock around the pillar, creating two defensive walls with more spikes.

“Are you building defenses or trying to recreate the hedgehog?”

“Shut up and watch the tunnels. I’m going to test something out.”

“What?”

“The pillar, when it activates it must be releases elemental power. I’m going to use a metal tempering needle, see if it distracts the mites.”

“Okay.”

Erik activated a needle and threw it down a tunnel.

If they’re interested in the needle they won’t advance towards us, just stop at the tempering needle. As long as it is stronger than the pillar’s power.

“Good to go.”

“Lets get this show on the road.”

They stepped up the mound and into their defenses.

==========

Capture Area 2

==========

1/100

==========

Gilly raised the last defenses, sealing them in as Erik felt the spike in elements.

“Shit, this thing is like an elemental well,” Erik heard the sounds of spiked feet splashing in the mud.

Several red crystals formed around George, they flew down a tunnel striking a mite. The water in the tunnel was vaporized in a moment, a wave of heat surged around the pillar.

Erik waited and watched, the mites rushed down the tunnel and lunged at the metal needle.

They crashed into one another as their bodies expanded, their exoskeletons opened as they drew in the surrounding elements.

“Explosive shot.” Erik fired into the open exo skeletons. The explosive rounds tore the unprotected beasts apart, turning them into ichor as they started to dissolve.