Random Portals

Some time later Steven had wrapped a root around Nev’s throat, as his other roots each held one of her eight legs, as she dangled in the air.

“What are you going to do with that remaining tentacle?” Nev asked.

She had a point. He needed to use all his roots to the best of his ability. Although he didn’t know what to do with it. His first instinct was to shove it down her throat to get some eternal damage in, but he quickly dismissed the idea, as Nev was an alley and this was only a mock battle. She also didn’t seem to mind in the slightest that he had a root wrapped around her throat. If anything, she seemed to be enjoying it. He was fixing to tighten his grip, but shifted back into his human form. Which dropped Nev unceremoniously to the ground, causing Silvia to laugh. Nev looked a bit disappointed, so Steven pulled out the water pipe and held it out for her to take. She then reverted to her human form and took a few hits from the pipe before handing it back.

“We should really practice this more. Your mana pool is getting larger. I can tell by how long you were able to stay in spider form even with the tentacle shard activated.”

“That was mostly due to me draining your mana through the roots.”

Nev’s face turned to confusion, then her eyes widened. “I didn’t even realize.”

“Okay, that’s enough. I need to talk with Steven. Alone,” Silvia said.

Nev glared at Silvia before saying she had some things to get in order for the next floor, anyway.

Steven glanced at Fidah. “I wanted to see what sort of ability Fidah got.”

“She got wings. Now we need to discuss the unformed core in your inventory. You need to use it to upgrade one of your Shard abilities before we head to the next floor. I was thinking Angelic death or the roots.”

“Ah, that’s why you wanted Nev to leave. She would want me to use it on my spider shard.”

“That or take it for herself. There is only one way to get unformed cores, making them extremely rare.”

“I don’t see her trying to take it.” Steven said.

“Power can make beings do uncharacteristic things. But we are getting off topic. Do you agree with my assessment, upgrade Angelic death, or the roots?”

“Yes, I do agree.”

“Great, now chose one and upgrade it.”

“I’m thinking about the roots. It’s really my only offensive ability, aside from the spider.”

“They are both good abilities. It’s really just a question. Do you want to be more aggressive or more defensive?”

“Well, when you put it like that, maybe I should go with angelic death. Making myself harder to kill would definitely be a boon.”

“It is your choice but one I think you need to make now so you can get some practice with it.”

“Okay, but I still don’t know where the unformed core even is.”

“I put it in your shards tab,” Silvia said.

“Thats why I couldn’t find it. I had been looking for a new tab,” Steven said as he focused on his shard tab and pulled out a round orb thing. He minimized the prompt to look at the unformed core. The orb was about the size of a baseball, with cracks all over it. It looked like some sort of black glass ball that had been dropped one too many times but was somehow still holding together.

“Is this what it’s supposed to look like?”

“Yep, that’s it. I’ve never seen a black one before, but it was probably because it came from an undead.”

“Can I still use it?”

“Your system ability should answer that for you.”

“Oh yeah, good point.” Steven said.

He then reopened the minimized prompt.

Would you like to absorb unformed core Yes/No?

(Note: this item will only upgrade a single shard that is still in its base form.)

Selecting yes, Steven received another prompt asking him to choose which shard he wanted to upgrade. Seeing all his shards were available, he chose Angelic Death and selected yes. What happen next was much like absorbing a shard. The black orb shattered into countless moats of lights and shot into his chest. Then pain, lots of pain. He had half expected Gideon to appear, but he did not.

After a while, the pain subsided and Steven was left there covered in sweat. He told Silvia he needed to bathe, and he quickly made his way to a secluded area and took a shower with the water stone. It was annoying holding up the stone with one hand while trying to clean himself with the other, but it was better than nothing. He quickly realized there was some sort of oily stuff all over him. It was difficult to get off with just his hands, but after scrubbing for a while, he managed to get it off, or at least he hoped.

Looking down at his clothes, he decided he wasn’t going to put them back on; the inside was covered in oily black stuff. He would have to ask Silvia about that. Pulling out the water pipe, he took a couple hits and noticed his stash was now getting quite low.

“Only one more floor to go.”

Looking down at his clothes again, he sighed. He really didn’t want to clean that stuff. Too bad he didn’t have a washing machine. He then remembered he had an Elf that was really good at cleaning. Maybe he could get her to clean it. Pulling out his sleeping clothes, which were just of some shorts and nothing else. He then went in search of Fidah.

Both Silvia and Fidah were next to his bed. The Elf was actually fixing it.

As soon as Silvia seen him, she flew over. “Which shard did you upgrade? Never mind that, just pull up your shard page.”

Steven had forgotten to look at it himself. He was too caught up in trying to get his clothes and armor cleaned.

“One second,” Steven said before he turned to Fidah, “could I get you to do me a favor?”

Fidah quickly came over. “yes, of course, Master. What do you need?”

“My clothes and armor have this wierd, oily stuff on them from absorbing that orb. Would you mind cleaning them? They are still over there.” Steven said while pointing behind him.

“Yes, of course. I’ll get to it right away.”

“You don’t have to now.”

“It would be my pleasure.” Fidah said, already taking off in the direction he had mentioned.

Steven felt kinda bad. Of course, she was going to do what he said.

“What have you been telling her? She is always so eager to do what I say.”

Silvia’s light flickered, “that’s not me, you are a Domain Holder, and she is your vassal. She gets a general sense to just obey you. Any vassal that is a lower level than you will always try to do what you say. Although some come to resent that and turn on their master's, so don’t abuse it.”

Steven just blinked at the wisp for a minute before speaking. “Why is this the first I’m hearing about that?”

“You never asked, now onto more important things. Open you stats.” Silvia said.

Steven did as she asked. He, too, was curious what his new ability upgraded to.

{Stats} {Equipment} {Shards*} {Inventory}

Shards:

~ 1 of 7

Angelic Death- Shard level 2

Ability effect~ Expands the distance up to 25 feet between two distinct targets, while dilating time for both targets at the cost of 100 mana per second. (Note: Ability will trigger automatically to maximum distance when user is about to take a lethal attack. Can be turned off at any time.)

~ 2 of 7

Royalty of the Chaotic Arachnid

Ability effect~ Transform into a true Spider King at the cost of 1,000 mana per minute. All attributes get a 333% increase while in this form. You lose all equipment slots and shard abilities while in this form. (Note: This ability will automatically trigger if health goes below 25%. If hit points would be reduced to 0 or less while in this form, those hit points become 1, all effects are removed and the shard user will revert to original form.)

~ 3 of 7

Chaos portal of Undeath

Ability effect~ Summon Undeath familiar.

Familiar Specialty~ Portal creation.

~ 4 of 7

Roots of the Dark Forest

Ability effect~ Create and control two dark root clusters at the cost of 380 mana per minute. Roots have the ability to drain mana from opponents on contact. Mana drain is determined by the spirit attribute.

(Note: Mana can not exceed the maximum mana limit. Strength and speed of roots are determined by wielders attributes.)

“All that and it only gave me fifteen feet. I expected it to upgrade the ability into a better version of what it was, less mana to use and maybe some new features.”

“Oh, don’t complain. The upgrade went well. You get to choose how far to move the target now, up to twenty-five feet. That can make all the difference.Besides, you still have two more upgrades before you max it out. It’s also over twice the range it was before.”

“Alright, well, at least I upgraded it.” Steven then pulled out his water pipe and took several long drags.

“We need to get going to the next floor so you need to put your amulet back on so we can wait out your mana being halved.”

Steven went to protest, but Silvia continued talking. “We need to wake Eve up, and I don’t see us figuring that out while in this dungeon.”

Steven took a deep breath and pulled out his amulet of the Armored Spider and put it on. Immediately, his buzz went away. “I’m ready to get out of this dungeon.” Steven said as he walked back to his camp.

“I am too. Ive been in this dungeon far too long,” Silvia said.

“Soon you will have your revenge on the vampire. What will you do then?”

“I will do my job and keep you alive so that I, too, can grow in power. As for now, I’m going to take another crack at the Elder Wisp.”

“Okay, you do that. I’m going to get some sleep. If you’re still in my inventory when I wake, I’ll pull you out.”

“Okay,” Silvia said as she flew into his chest.

“Arch Angel Gideon, is it true that the chosen of Chaos has an angel as a familiar?”

Gideon sighed internally as he turned to the speaker. “He has a fallen angel that is bound and restricted to only using portal magic.”

“Will that not give him an unfair advantage in the upcoming trial?”

Gideon hated these meetings, he didn’t understand why they had to be held in the void, of all places there was nothing here aside from the tables of food that Famine no doubt brought as he always did, but Gideon was required to represent his Father. These new gods never understand the power difference between themselves and the original seven. They thought they were equals, and father refused to put them in their place less they go too far.

“I don’t see how it would give him an unfair advantage. Doesn’t your chosen have an elder dragon as a familiar?” Gideon watched as the new god that Gideon didn’t care to learn the name of just walked off without saying another word. They always wanted to complain. Even when Chaos didn’t have a chosen, something was always not fair. He was sure that god would go around and get the others to also complain about Steven’s familiar. But that was part of father’s plan.

“Gideon, it’s nice to see you again, brother.”

A smile formed on his face when he realized who it was. “Azriel, I’m surprised to see you here. Did Death choose a human from earth as well?”

“He did indeed, father seen how Chaos was on the move and thought it would be interesting to join the trials this round.” Azriel said.

“Chaos and Death,” a feminine voice echoed out, “It seems the trials will be quite interesting this millennium.”

“Is that you, Celeste?” Azriel asked.

“It is indeed.” Celeste slowly materialized with a smirk on her face.

“Lust has also chosen a human from earth, I see,” Gideon said.

“Rumor has it all Seven are joining the trials this round.” Celeste said.

“That is unusual. It has been several millennia since that has happened.” Azriel said.

“Mother said if Chaos is getting involved, then things should get spiced up around here. She gets bored without any entertainment, you know,” Celeste said.

“Of course, Lust would want to spice things up,” Azriel said.

“It will be nice to see all Seven of you again,” Gideon said.

“Is that so, little brother?” A deep booming voice echoed out.

“That voice can be none other than Honor’s lackey.” Celeste said with a wide grin plastered on her face.

Suddenly a huge man with a lion’s head appeared in front of Gideon, wrapping him in a huge hug.

“Little Gideon! It’s been far too long.”

Gideon was finally able to speak when the Leonid sat him back down. “Brahmaz, it has been what ten thousand years since we last seen each other.”

“Twelve thousand years as of yesterday.” Brahmaz said.

“Well, it’s been far too long,” Gideon said.

Brahmaz looked around at the tables of food and the new gods that were eating and his eyes narrowed. “I see Famine is still at it. There are a lot of new young gods. This trial will be quite the large one.”

“And it wouldn’t be the same without you here with us,” Azriel said.

Brahmaz turned with a wide grin. “You’re absolutely right, little Azriel!”

One by one, the Arc Angel for each of the original seven appeared to discuss this season’s trial. Despite them being Angles, they were in charge, as they were much older and stronger than the younger gods. Brahmaz had to demonstrate this, but only once. Disintegrating a god was far above any of the younger gods at this time, and they quickly fell in line.

All new gods must participate, however, only once. After that they were free to join or not. Though younger gods normally joined, as there were few ways to gain levels once god hood was reached. There was always at least one Arc Angel present to oversee the trials. On rare occasions, there may be two or possibly three. But for all seven to be present was something rare indeed. And would no doubt shake the foundations of this universe.

Steven woke up and glanced at his timer. Only two hours remained until his mana would resume its normal recovery. He couldn’t believe he had slept so long. He expected to see Silvia or Fidah, but neither one was around. Glancing over to Eve, he saw her still fast asleep. To him, she looked dead. But Silvia assured him that she was still alive, well alive as an undead could be. Silvia didn’t know why Eve wasn’t waking up, but she was sure they could find someone to wake her.

Looking in his inventory to make sure Silvia wasn’t in there, he got out of bed and noticed his clothes and armor neatly placed on a box.

“Thank you, Fidah.” Steven mumbled as he got dressed. His hands shook a bit from nerves.

The tenth floor was so close and he was worried he wasn’t ready to face demons. He was so close to getting out of this dungeon and then could do what he wanted. He hated being trapped in this place and forced to fight. Steven wanted to explore the new world he found himself in, and, of course, save Eve. Which was really priority number one.

Steven went out in search of Silvia. They needed a plan of action when they entered the final floor. Silvia was sure there would be some sort of trap waiting. And he wasn’t about to dismiss that. They needed to be as ready as they could be.

Nev was the first person he ran into. She said she had finally finished up with the drones and wanted him to take a look. He thought it was odd, as she never showed him before, but went along with her, anyway. His face turned to horror when he saw the mimic looking drones. He looked at Nev with wide eyes. The creatures looked horrifying. Long pale arms that hung to the ground with enormous claws. Pale skin, with long skinny arms and legs, they looked like something from a nightmare and their faces…

“What happened to their faces?” Steven couldn’t help but ask.

“I’m unsure this is how I birthed them. I suppose the chest on their heads can’t be replicated. But don’t worry, look.” Nev said as she tapped one of them on its blank white face. It was as if a black hole opened up with thousands of razor-sharp teeth. “Aren’t they great? They are my favorite creation of all time. Too bad there aren’t more mimics around.”

Steven was unsure what to say, but he was happy the thirty something odd drone mimics were on his side. “Great work Nev, I’m sure they will be very useful on the tenth floor. “

No sooner than Steven spoke, he heard several voices in his mind speak all at once. “We will not disappoint you, my King.”

Steven shuttered and stepped back. Even their voices were like a hellish nightmare. And when did drones have the ability to speak into his mind?

“Aren’t they wonderful!” Nev said with a huge smile.

“Umm yes, they seem quite capable…” Steven looked between Nev and the faceless mimic drones for a moment longer. “I’ve gotta go talk with Sirus. I’ll come back and find you in a few.”

“Okay, I’m getting them ready. I’m going to send ten in first to scout before we enter.”

“That sounds fantastic.” Steven said as he walked off. He wasn’t sure what he was going to talk with Sirus about. He just wanted away from the mimic drones. As he walked, he noticed a drone following him on the ceiling. He breathed a sigh of relief as he realized it was just a normal drone. He almost asked the old drone what he thought of the mimic drones, but decided against it, he didn’t need to start some sort of feud.

It didn’t take him long to reach the Naga camp. He saw Silvia next to Fidah talking with Sirus and the other Naga leaders, so he walked over.

“Ahh, you're awake,” Silvia said upon spotting him, “how much time is left before your mana recovery returns to normal?”

A quick glance showed Steven what he was looking for. “About an hour.”

“Okay then, in an hour we will go to the tenth floor.” Silvia said to Goskia.

“We will have our warriors ready by then, along with potions for your group as well.” Goskia said.

Silvia then flew off, followed by Fidah. “Are you coming?” Silvia asked.

“Yeah.” Steven said as he turned to follow. After a couple of minutes of walking, Silvia stopped and turned. “Okay. Go on, Fidah, he has been wanting to see your shard ability.”

“Yes, of course.” Fidah said as a pair of large, white feathered wings just appeared on Fidah’s back.

It was so sudden Steven took a step back before moving closer to get a better look. The wings themselves were beautiful. Reminding him of paintings of angels. The wings were at least twice as tall as him. The downside was there would be no way to use those wings in a tight space.

Steven was petting the feathers before he even realized he was rubbing his hands down her feathers. His first thought was how great it would be to have a pillow made of this stuff. No, an entire bed. Why stop there when you could just sleep in the wings themselves?

“Soft are they not.” Silvia said, knocking Steven from his thoughts.

“They are. I don’t believe I’ve ever touched anything so soft before in my life.” Steven said.

“She can feel every touch as well isn’t that amazing.” Silvia’s light flicker mischievously.

Steven was rubbing his face on the feathers and slowly looked up. “I’m sorry I was just…”

“It is perfectly fine, Master. You can touch my wings as much as you would like.”

“Did you hear that, Steven? You can touch her as much as you like. I would recommend you take her up on that and stay away from that arachnid.”

“Speaking of Nev, have you seen the new drones?” Steven asked.

“Way to kill the mood. You two are never going to give me any half elves at this rate. But to answer the question, no, I have not seen the latest drones. Why is there something different about them?”

“They are faceless mimics that can speak into your mind,” Steven said.

“Interesting, that Spider’s ability to make drones is quite unique. No wonder she basically controls the swamp lands. Do they look strong? Oh, never mind, I’m going to go take a look for myself.”

Silvia then left Steven and Fidah standing there alone.

“Do you want to keep petting my feathers?”

Steven’s face lit up. “I would. I could just crawl inside and take a nap!”

Somehow or another, Steven found himself lying on Fidah’s wings as she cradled him inside behind her back. It was much like a hammock, the softest hammock that ever existed. It turned out the wings were quite dexterous and could turn them in many directions. He told Fidah to tell Silvia she had no idea where he was when she came looking for him. He did it more to annoy the wisp than anything else, as it would be obvious that he would be in the feather cocoon on her back.

When Silvia returned, Fidah did exactly as Steven instructed. Telling Silvia she had no idea where Steven went off to. When Silvia asked what she was doing with her wings, she said she was training. To Steven’s surprise, Silvia flew off in search of him, not even considering that he was inside her wings. Steven was about to tell Fidah to let him out, but decided to stay for a bit longer. It was extremely soft.

Steven woke up to shouting. He hadn’t expected to fall asleep. As he listened to the shouting, he quickly realized it was Nev arguing about where he was, and something about drones going to the tenth floor.

“Fidah, you can let me out now.”

“Yes master at once,” Fidah said as she slowly opened her wings to let him out. Once Steven was out, Fidah had her wings vanish.

“Sorry Fidah, I fell asleep. Your wings are just…” Steven stopped talking as everyone was just staring at him. Several Naga, along with Sirus, were also there.

Silvia flew directly into his face. Steven activated angelic death to move her a little to the side. Silvia’s light flickered a bit, but she didn’t comment on that. “Did you order Fidah to say she didn’t know where you were?” Silvia asked.

“Yeah…” Steven said sheepishly.