Imperious 013 - Loot

The dire mole approached the trapdoor, sniffing at the air. It had avoided the dangerous place for as long as it could remember, instinctual memory telling it to stay far away. Things had changed the previous day, though. The skittering of the trapweavers had stopped and there was a strangeness about their lair. A tantalizing smell of blood and essence along with a call that it hadn’t noticed until it had passed by out of curiosity.

It brushed its snout against the trapdoor and urged it open. The fibrous web was still there but it heard nothing within, only silence. There was that smell again, urging it on. It descended into the hole and down into the tunnel. The space was dark but it had evolved beyond such difficulties. It sniffed the air again and followed the tantalizing aroma, eager to feed on something new. Perhaps the trapweaver alpha had died and now its corpse was free game.

It strode into the main chamber and paused. Something was wrong. It could smell something else amongst the scent of ichor, a creature it didn’t recognize. It couldn’t see it though, couldn’t sense its presence. It panned its tiny eyes over the room until it met a pair of orange spots of faint light. Barely visible in the dark.

Something passed over it like an icy wave.

“Run.” 

It didn’t understand the strange voice, its thoughts too simple, but it understood the meaning. The fight or flight instinct in is body tilted towards flight and it turned, racing out the passage and up through the tunnel again. It would never return to that terrifying place.

–

Anna rest her head against the cobweb in the back of the chamber. The smooth silk was comfortable. She checked her leg again, it was still bound up in some of the sturdy silk she had torn off the ground to make a bandage. It wasn’t great but so far she hadn’t gotten an infection and the pain had long since passed. It still felt a little weak when she put her foot on it but it wasn’t bad enough that she couldn’t move.

She glanced towards the corpse of the trapweaver alpha. She’d left it there, too tired to loot it after their fight. Then the first critter had come along to check things out and she’d come up with an idea. She’d rest and practice with her heritage while she waited for her leg to heal. She watched the ceiling until something alive came close enough that she could see it through the ground as a clump of mist and then draw her presence in, hiding herself. The first time it had been a very brave prowler that had managed to slip down into the tunnel.

The lighting that the various mushrooms and stones had given off ruined her surprise and it had nearly attacked before she drove it off. After that she spent a little time limping around the room and collecting all the rocks and mushrooms from the walls. There weren’t a whole lot of them but enough that it provided clear illumination.

Small Glowstone - (Mortal-Common)
This rock has unique properties given to it by the surrounding mineral composition. It produces steady light of its own accord.

Emberglow Fungus - (Mortal-Common)
This mushroom glows in the dark even when picked. Its properties are unknown.

She had nothing to store them in so she tucked them behind the thickest part of the cobweb and pulled the material over them to cut off the majority of the light. The effect was far better than she could have hoped. Sitting in the dark she scared off well over a dozen of the local fauna as they came around to check out the stink of the dead alpha. She wasn’t sure if they were investigating it as a meal or if they sensed the creature’s essence. It didn’t really matter though, she had a way to practice.

Anna learned a lot. She already knew that her heritage had something to do with presence so she took that as her starting point. She was able to essentially tone down her presence almost like turning the volume dial on a stereo system. The ‘song’ was still the same but she could make it so muted that nobody could hear it. Conversely she could turn it all the way up to max and blast it out like a fog horn. She didn’t seem to be able to do much with it when she turned it down besides making it harder for her to be detected.

It became interesting when she turned it up, though. On the monsters and beasts that came sniffing around the cavern she discovered there was some nuance to it that she should have realized based on the description of the bloodline and it’s reactions to various stimuli.

Dormant Heritage: Born in the Gray
You possess a dormant bloodline heritage that craves domination and resents authority. In order to access its abilities it must be awakened. Its instincts will guide you towards the next stage.

Effects: [Sealed]

Attributes Per Level: +3 Pre, +1 Ins, +1 Awa

It craved dominion and by extension she did. It was hard to dismiss it even with how uncomfortable it made her. When she was in her freshman year she had taken control of the student council and tried to go on a warpath of change to improve the school only to be swept up in red tape. She’d kept to herself, savoring her solitude after that. In a way her loneliness had become a new domain for her that she resolutely protected. When the hound had come by the precinct after the integration she had driven it off, though the memory was still fuzzy.

It was like a command that she could issue to those who fell into her sight, pushing down with her presence and demanding that they do what she asked. Usually that resulted in a fear response though occasionally it only managed to piss something off, case in point the Trapweaver Alpha. Maybe it triggers a flight response in weaker enemies and a fight response in stronger enemies. I wonder what it does to people?

Her lips thinned at the thought as she experimented with turning the dial up and down at will. Dark thought, why don’t I feel bad about it? She wondered before shrugging her shoulders. Doesn’t matter, I guess I’m just broken like that, she thought with a sigh before chuckling a little and turning her presence dial back to normal and explored the sensation. I still feel like I’m missing something but at least I feel like I can do it intentionally now.

She got to her feet and tapped her leg on the ground, testing it a little. Still a little weak. She hadn’t checked to see just how extensive the damage was and her stomach churned at the idea so she focused on other things.

She approached the resting corpse of the trapweaver alpha and tapped it once before backing away and covering her mouth before looting it.

You have received: 85 Iron Coins and 191 Essence Points

Stage 1 Bonus Condition: Slay 10 Creatures (10/10)
Stage 2 Bonus Condition: Slay 3 Alphas (1/3)

“Nice! Head start on the next bonus condition, I wonder what I get for finishing it,” she said as she savored the feeling of the essence entering her body. She was more aware of the sensation now and could even tell that it was resting around that spot near her navel where mana came in. She was about to turn away from the pile of dust on the ground when she noticed something resting in the pile. “...no way,” she breathed and hustled over to it, dropping to the ground and pushing the dust out of the way. She picked up the small object and held it up to examine. 

Dungeon Loot Token (Trapweaver Alpha) (Mortal-Uncommon)
Crush this token to acquire an uncommon piece of loot from the Trapweaver Alpha intended for your class. This token may be traded.

“Loot!” she let out a whoop and crushed it immediately. She took a half step back and glanced up as a carefully folded bundle of dark gray fabric appeared in the air above her. She caught it and quickly identified it.

Trapweaver Silk Warcaster’s Robes (Mortal-Uncommon)
This durable set of robes is made of sturdy trapweaver silk and provide a moderate amount of physical protection and a small amount of magical protection. These robes can be worn beneath armor.

She was overjoyed, “Clothes! Fresh clothes!” she would have wept as she quickly unfolded them. It was a two piece set, the closed-front robes themselves made up the majority while it also came with a pair of comfortable looking pants made of the same material. They both were dark gray and had a minimalist look to them with little in the way of design besides the long oversized sleeves and hood. 

It was smooth and silky but oddly sturdy. She rubbed it between her fingers before quickly unbuckling her chain shirt and setting it aside. She swapped out her and pulled the robes on over her head before quickly swapping into the pants. While she did she checked her leg and was amazed to see only a bruise remained from her injury. I really do heal faster, she thought as she finished cinching the robes and pants.

“Oh that feels nice,” she said, checking herself out before frowning at her shoes, “Need some boots,” she muttered before grabbing her chain shirt and pulling it back on as well. She tightened the clasps and stretched her arms experimentally. Not bad at all, feels a little heavy but not terrible. Looks a little funny with the sleeves of the chain armor but I’ll find something better later. At least it breathes well, I won’t overheat too much.

Satisfied with those gains she sat down and took a deep breath. Alright, lets give refining a try now that I’ve got all this essence.

She closed her eyes and tried to replay the feeling she’d experienced in the pool of mana. The sensation of drawing something into herself and letting it mix with the essence already in her body. She’d cast Mana Barrier enough to know the feeling of drawing on mana and so used that as her guide. The reaction within her body was immediate and she felt the blazing power of mana pour into her before mixing with the essence. She guided it out and felt it catch within her veins before spreading through them little by little. 

It felt like moving molasses through her body, slowly coating the inside of her veins with the energy as her body slowly rose in temperature. She kept a close eye on her Mana Tolerance, watching it steadily rise as she continued until she started to get a little close to the cap and stopped.

You have refined 100 essence.
Current progress to next level: 23.6%
Remaining stored essence: 456

She exhaled and shuddered at the feeling of the mana taint in her body. The smoldering feeling drawing up memories of her near death experience. She leaned back and closed her eyes. I’ll wait until I’ve recovered and then go again. I need to figure out how long it takes to recover my mana tolerance for the future anyway. I went straight to fifty this time.

It took about two hours for her to completely hit zero again and she repeated the process until she was left with only the scraps of her current stored essence.

Current progress to next level: 76.9%
Remaining stored essence: 56

“Very nice,” she murmured, Starting to get the hang of this, she threw her head back and shouted, “See that, system? I’ll figure it out on my own you stingy fucker!” She chuckled and rose to her feet, testing her leg again and nodding to herself. Finally healed completely, she thought and turned around to pull the mushrooms and glowing rocks out from where she’d hidden them. It only took a minute to turn her old shirt into a sack she could carry them in and use one to help herself navigate out.

Not even gonna bother with the bodies hanging here, not my kills and I doubt I’ll get anything useful off of them, she thought as she dipped into the tunnel and slipped into the pit beneath the trap door. Need to figure out how to navigate back here so I can recover again if I have to. I’ll head back to the lobby first and mark trees on the way, grab my backpack and come back. Shouldn’t take long now that I’m not sleep deprived and confused.

The forest air was fresh and crisp when she pulled herself out of the hole and took a quick look around. Her wraithsight didn’t spot anything alive nearby so she took a moment to get her bearings and figure out which direction looked brightest. Deciding on her course she broke into an easy jog, not bothering with stealth. Most of the beasts in this part of the forest shouldn’t be a problem for her. Let them come, she thought as she pulled up a portion of her character sheet.

Class: Warmage - 1 (633/700) 23.6%

Just a little more to have enough for level two, she thought eagerly.

She got what she wished for an hour later as she was nearing the brightest portion of the woods. She couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes away from the edge and her destination when she stopped again to mark a tree with the sharp end of her club, drawing an arrow towards the next tree in the line leading back to her newly claimed spider den. She was almost done with the carving when they attacked, the first young prowler leaping down from above.

It knocked her down and onto her back, driving the air out of her only to get the pointy end of her club in the side of the head as its reward. She snarled and kicked it off of her before scrambling to her feet, spitting the blood that had sprayed into her mouth out and turning around to put her back to the tree. Two prowlers stalked into view and she popped her neck, standing up straight. “Been following me for a while, huh?” she growled and tilted her head forward, turning up the volume on her presence, “Come on then.”

The two predators roared and charged, leaping at her with claws extended. A quick mana barrier blocked the first while she dove to the right and planted her foot, spinning with an upward swing. Ribs cracked beneath the force of the blow and one of the prowlers was sent sprawling at her feet while the other landed and turned, its fangs bared while its tail whipped angrily. Anna held its gaze as she brought her club down on its friend, crushing its skull.

The survivor took two steps back and bolted as Anna wiped stood up. She followed it with her wraithsight until it went out of sight. She spat on the ground, “Chicken shit.”