Seeds of Discordia: New Arrival Mayhem

“Are you two alright?” Liam asked as he approached Avery and Roman.

“Yeah,” Roman stated as he turned his body to a sitting position.

Both he and Avery pulled out a Mana and Stamina Potion and drank them.

After she finished the Stamina Potion, Avery continued, “Wave of Ignition takes a lot of mana to use. It also has an upkeep to continuously use it.”

“We kept using it until all of our mana supply was used up in case he tried to use that Mummy Rot thing again,” Roman added. “However, I didn’t know our Stamina would be drained too. It never mentioned anything like that.”

“It must have been because we were trying to walk with it still activated and because we were so close to the flames,” Avery suggested.

“That could be it,” Roman agreed as he thought about it.

“Either way, that was some great thinking on your part,” Mercer complimented.

“I’d say. Great job guys!” Ariyana agreed as she gave them both a wide grin.

“Speaking of a great job,” Liam turned to look at Artem and Mercer. “Great job destroying that jar before the Askith Pharoh Mummy Lord took it to regenerate. Also great job on that healing spell Artem.”

“It’s not a problem,” Mercer smiled. “I’m just glad my Zodiac ability went off cooldown in time.”

“It was my first time trying it,” Artem bashfully stated. “I wasn’t sure if it would work clearing away the Mummy Rot, but I couldn’t just stand there and do nothing.”

Liam nodded. “Looks like we’re even now,” Liam smiled as he patted him on the back. “I saved your life, and you saved mine.”

Artem’s cheeks reddened a bit.

“Also, great timing with those illusion spells,” Liam added as he looked at Ariyana.

“I couldn’t time my other spells to cancel his spell casting no matter how hard I watched him,” Ariyana stated with a frown on her face. “But when you mentioned to Roman about using our Illusions I knew I could time those better.”

“And that you did,” Avery stated. “I have to say, it felt weird when you used Mirage on me. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but it saved my life.”

“Same with you Roman,” Mercer stated. Then asked, “What was that spell you used to make a copy of yourself to get his attention away from me?”

“Hm?” Roman muttered as he looked at him. “Oh that? That was Misdirection. It allows me to create an image to catch the target’s attention for a short amount of time, taking their eyes off what they were targeting before. I figured I’d use it right before it launched an attack on you so it wouldn’t attack you.”

“So, there is some brains in that head of yours,” Blair smirked.

Roman swiftly looked at her and frown. “What’s that supposed to mean? Of course, I have a brain.”

Everyone laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Roman questioned as he turned to look at them.

Mercer shook his head. “Forget about it. I’m going to go loot the body.”

“Sounds good,” Liam stated as he brought his laughter under control. “I’m going to check out the notifications that popped up.”

Liam looked down and brought up the notifications awaiting him.

 

“Congratulations! Body Stat Constitution Sub-Stat Vitality has reached level 10! Progression to level 11: 7%! +10% increase to HP.”

“Congratulations! Body Stat Dexterity Sub-Stat Speed has reached level 18! Progression to level 19: 0%!”

“Congratulations! Non-Combat Ability Mana Sight has reached level 17! Progression to level 18: 0%!”

“Congratulations! Non-Combat Ability Mana Channeling has reached level 16! Progression to level 17: 2%!”

“Congratulations! Non-Combat Ability Mana Control has reached level 13! Progression to level 14: 100%!”

“Congratulations! Non-Combat Ability Mana Control has reached level 14! Progression to level 15: 10%!”

“Congratulations! Non-Combat Ability Mana Manipulation has reached level 13! Progression to level 14: 100%!”

“Congratulations! Non-Combat Ability Mana Manipulation has reached level 14! Progression to level 15: 10%!”

“Congratulations! Non-Combat Ability Perception of the Control Tower has reached level 11! Progression to level 12: 100%!”

“Congratulations! Non-Combat Ability Perception of the Control Tower has reached level 12! Progression to level 13: 100%!”

“Congratulations! Non-Combat Ability Perception of the Control Tower has reached level 13! Progression to level 14: 10%!”

“Congratulations! Lunar Ability Lunar Exposure has reached level 9! Progression to level 10: 11%!”

“Congratulations! Lunar Ability Lunar Swarm has reached level 2! Progression to level 3: 100%!”

“Congratulations! Lunar Ability Lunar Swarm has reached level 3! Progression to level 4: 1%!”

“Congratulations! Shadow Ability Shadow Hand has reached level 6! Progression to level 7: 100%!”

“Congratulations! Shadow Ability Shadow Hand has reached level 7! Progression to level 8: 100%!”

“Congratulations! Shadow Ability Shadow Hand has reached level 8! Progression to level 9: 0%!”

“Congratulations! Shadow Ability Shadow Step has reached level 2! Progression to level 3: 100%!”

“Congratulations! Shadow Ability Shadow Step has reached level 3! Progression to level 4: 100%!”

“Congratulations! Shadow Ability Shadow Step has reached level 4! Progression to level 5: 0%!”

“Congratulations! Shadow Ability Shadow Swarm has reached level 3! Progression to level 4: 100%!”

“Congratulations! Shadow Ability Shadow Swarm has reached level 4! Progression to level 5: 10%!”

“Congratulations! Control over Shadow Mana has reached level 8! Progression to level 9: 0%!”

“Congratulations! New Ailment Resistance has been discovered! Ailment Resistance – Rot has reached level 1! Progression to level 2: 100%!”

“Congratulations! Ailment Resistance – Rot has reached level 2! Progression to level 3: 100%!”

“Congratulations! Ailment Resistance – Rot has reached level 3! Progression to level 4: 100%!”

“Congratulations! Ailment Resistance – Rot has reached level 4! Progression to level 5: 27%!”

“Congratulations! New Ailment Resistance has been discovered! Ailment Resistance – Stellar Affliction From Within has reached level 1! Progression to level 2: 100%!”

“Congratulations! Ailment Resistance – Stellar Affliction From Within has reached level 2! Progression to level 3: 90%!”

“Congratulations! Personal level has reached level 6! Progression to level 7: 0%!”

“Congratulations! 3rr0r Corrupted (Sealed) Class ability ???????? has reached level 8! Progression to level 9: 11%!”

 

Liam stared at the notifications.

He stared at the last one for a long moment.

Even though he wasn’t sure what the Class or ability that was, he was even more confused on why it was leveling up so much these past couple weeks. He wasn’t doing anything that was out of the norm that he was aware of. He decided to leave it since Eri stated it would resolve on its own soon enough.

He looked at the new Ailment Resistance – Rot and knew what it was about.

He then pulled up the description of the other new ailment resistance, Stellar Affliction From Within.

 

“Stellar Affliction From Within – Lunar Affliction that is created due to using too much or staring at Lunar Magic over a certain period of time. Will cause user to go blind, as well as suffer damage from within the body starting with their organs. At the lower levels it will start to cause the user to start going blind. Each level reached will bring a new Affliction upon the body. After some rest the effects will go away. The higher the level the longer the rest is needed.”

 

So, Shadow Magic will affect the mind while Lunar Magic affects the body? Liam thought. That’s nasty. If I’m not careful I could not only go mad, but I could kill myself from within.

Liam closed his notifications and grew a smile.

He was happy to see that his Lunar and Shadow abilities were growing, even if the price to be paid for using them too much could hurt him.

His other stats were growing nicely as well. He only had one that wasn’t at level ten now and that was his Ailment Resistance Sub-stat, but he felt he could get that up sooner or later.

The biggest surprise for him though was his personal level. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to level up his personal level anytime soon, so it was a happy surprise to see it did.

He looked over at Mercer and noticed he was walking away from the burnt body of the Askith Pharoh Mummy Lord.

“Are you going to try and Harvest the body?” Mercer questioned.

Liam raised a brow as he looked confused. “Do you think there will be anything worth harvesting from it after it was burnt to a crisp?”

“It’s always worth a shot,” Mercer stated.

“Alright, I’ll see if it works,” Liam said as he walked over to the dead body.

As soon as he approached it he reached a hand out and said, “Harvest.”

The Askith Pharaoh Mummy Lord’s body glowed for a few seconds before disappearing.

 

“You have received Mummy Lord Liver. Item Type – Material (Crafting- Alchemic). Item Rarity – Rare. Item Quality – Above Average.”

 

Mummy Lord Liver? Alchemic crafting material? I wonder what it could be used for? Liam thought as he closed his notifications. I’m going to have to ask Galin when I get the chance.

“Get anything good?” Mercer asked as Liam approached them.

“I’m not sure,” Liam replied. “I’m thinking about consulting Galin when we get back since it’s an Alchemy material.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Mercer stated.

“What about you? Anything good drop?” Liam asked.

“See for yourself,” Mercer stated as he pulled out a dark wooden wand with a life-like Spider-tailed Horned Viper wrapping around it. The head resting on one end and the spider like tail close to the other end.

Liam assessed the item.

 

“Askith Pharaoh Snake Wand. Item type – Weapon (Wand – Magical). Item Rarity – Epic. Item Quality – Well Crafted. + 25% to all Mental Magics. Effect: Snake Charm. Snake Charm – if the user is a Beast Tamer then any snake type monsters become less aggressive to the one holding the item. Has a 50% boost when trying to tame snake-like monsters.”

 

Liam let out a whistle as his eyes widened before saying, “A Well-Crafted Epic item.”

“Are you serious?!” Everyone, except for Liam and Mercer, shouted.

“Yeah,” Liam stated. “I wouldn’t kid about something like this.”

Everyone stared at the wand with disbelief.

As Roman stared at it, a frown suddenly formed on his face. “Well damn. Even though it’s a Well-Crafted Epic item, it’s a shame that I don’t use a lot of mental magics. Plus, I’m not a beast tamer. I guess it should go to someone who fits that.”

 Artem, Avery, Blair, Liam, and Mercer stared at Roman and were shocked about his round about way of saying who should get the item.

“It is such a shame that I chose to go down this path,” Blair chimed in as she crossed her arms across her chest and shook her head. “Oh well, not much I can do but pass it along to someone who was able to put up an amazing mental battle against the Floor Boss.”

Ariyana’s eyes widened as she finally realized what was going on. “Are you sure?” she asked, surprise evident in her voice.

“I’m sure,” Liam started before looking at the others. “What about you guys?”

“I’m fine with it,” Artem stated first.

“I agree with the decision too,” Roman said then added, “It’s not like I’m going to learn Beast Taming any time soon.”

“I want to learn Beast Taming so I can get my own tamed beast,” Avery started. “But I don’t plan on unlocking it yet so that wand is useless to me.”

“Same here,” Blair agreed.

“See,” Mercer chimed in. “Even though picking up Beast Taming would be a good idea for all of us in the future so we can have a protective beast guarding us. It’s not going to be a full focus for us. We all know how passionate you are about it and not only that, but I think you’re the only one who uses a lot of Mental type magics.”

Ariyana’s mouth grew into a happy and wide smile as she reached out for the wand. “Thank you guys.”

“Don’t mention it,” Liam said as he put a hand on her shoulder. “You did a great job timing your Illusion Magic to protect us from getting hit by his attacks.”

“Did anything else drop?” Liam asked as he turned to Mercer.

“Yeah two more items,” Mercer replied as he pulled out the next one.

It looked like a pile of eggshell white colored bandages.

Liam was confused by the way it looked so he assessed it.

 

“Askith Pharaoh Hand Wraps. Item type – Armor (Hands). Item Rarity – Rare. Item Quality – Average. +15 Armor. + 10% resistance to all magics except Fire type magic. -10% armor to Fire type magic. Effect – Bandage Bind. Bandage Bind – by channeling mana into the Hand wraps the wearer can shoot out a bandage wrap to bind the target closest to them. Can cause magical damage to target through the action depending on the mana type used. Warning! If Fire mana is channeled through the bandage wrap damage will be done to the armor piece!”

 

“Oh wow,” Liam said as he stared at the item. “I wouldn’t have expected this to be like a glove.”

“That’s pretty cool!” Roman stated.

Mercer looked at the item and then at the group. He then said, “I think Liam should get it since his gloves were destroyed by the Mummy Rot when he was trying to protect us.”

The others looked at Mercer and thought about it. After a brief moment they nodded, agreeing to it.

“Are you guys sure?” Liam asked.

“Yeah, you lost a couple of armor pieces during that attack. You need to be able to protect yourself. So, think of this as a thank you for what you did,” Mercer said with a smile while handing it to Liam.

Liam grabbed it and added it to his Armor Collection in the Wardrobe. After doing that they appeared on his hands wrapping his fingers, palms, and up to his mid-forearm.

“That’s pretty cool,” Liam muttered. “I feel like I’m getting ready to train at a gym with these.”

“What’s the next item?” Roman quickly asked, curious about what it was.

“Oh, yeah. The next item is…,” Mercer started as he pulled up his inventory. “It’s a rather strange item.”

“A strange item?” the others questioned as they looked at him.

“Yeah it’s this,” Mercer stated as he pulled out a book.

Liam looked at the book. It had a black tannish brown cover with no words or pictures on it.

Mercer opened it to show the contents, but inside the pages were blank.

Liam tried assessing it and was shocked by what he saw.

 

“????????”

 

All question marks? Liam thought.

It can’t be… Eri suddenly said in Liam’s mind.

Liam’s brows furrowed as he asked, What can’t be? Do you know something about this book?

I’m not completely sure if it is what I think it is, but…Eri started as her voice trailed off.

But what? Liam tried again.

But if it is, then you are going to need to hide it and not let anyone know you have it. Eri continued.

What… Liam tried to say, but what cut off.

Don’t ask questions for now. Eri interjected. Just do as I say. Tell them you will take it. When you do keep it inside your inventory and don’t pull it out at all costs. Not until I know for sure if it is what I think it is. Got it.

Alright, fine I’ll trust your judgement. Liam stated before saying to the others. “Can I have this item?”

The others turned to look at him.

“Are you sure?” Mercer asked, both surprised and confused. “We don’t know what it is or if it is worth anything.”

“That’s alright,” Liam started. “I’m interested in trying to figure out what it is. If I find anything out I’ll let you know.”

Mercer raised a brow as he continued to stare at him through his emerald filled eyes. He then let a sigh out and handed him the book while saying, “Alright then…but you better let me know when you do find something out about it.”

“Alright, alright,” Liam said as he grabbed the book.

As soon as he touched the book, Liam’s heart suddenly thumped hard. This feeling sent a ripple throughout his body. However, just as quickly as it happened it stopped, leaving Liam both confused and concerned.

“You alright?” Artem asked as he noticed several sweat drops roll down Liam’s forehead.

Liam turned to look at him through his goggles. He was thankful they couldn’t see through the dark tinted lens because his eyes would have given more away than what his evened facial expression was giving.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Liam stated as he placed the book into his inventory. “I’m just feeling tired, sore, and hungry.”

“Same here,” Roman stated as he stretched his arms up in the air. He let out a groan as he did this and then placed his arms back to his side.

“We have definitely spent a lot of time here on this floor,” Blair commented.

“Right? I can’t wait to take a nice bath and sleep on my bed back at the inn,” Ariyana said with an excited look.

Before anyone could say anything else, a rumble started to shake the ground.

The group looked around to see what was going on. They were sure they had killed all the EFM’s and the Floor Boss. Yet the room and the ground shaking alarmed them.

As the shaking in the room continued, a section of the wall where the Askith Pharoh Mummy Lord was by during their whole time fighting fell apart.

After the last piece of stone fell, the shaking subsided.

Liam and the others looked over at the section of the wall that had fallen apart and noticed two Portals standing side by side.

“Jesus. That almost gave me a heart attack,” Artem stated as he placed a hand on his heart.

“Tell me about it,” Roman agreed. “For a moment there I thought…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Ariyana shouted, “No! Don’t you dare finish what you were going to say.”

Roman and everyone turned to look at her.

She looked back at them and explained, “Every time he says something, he jinxes it. I don’t want to have to fight another monster right now. I want a bath, hot food, and some drinks.”

Ariyana turned back at Roman and pointed a finger at him while carefully saying each word, “So not a single word out of you until we get out of here. Do I make myself clear?”

“Bu…,” Roman tried to say.

“Ap,” Ariyana interrupted again. “I said, do I make myself clear?”

A frown grew on Roman’s face as he lifted his middle finger and responded, “As clear as it is that I’m flipping you off.”

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Ariyana replied back as she swiftly reached out and gripped his middle finger. As she gripped it, Ariyana started walking and pulling him along while saying, “Now, come along Roman. Let’s send you out first before you cause any more issues with that mouth of yours.”

“What the hell! I can walk on my own,” Roman complained while trying to break himself free.

The others watched as this happened.

They were both stunned and surprised by what Ariyana had done. Not too long after she started pulling him to the Exit Portal like a misbehaved child, everyone let out a loud and hearty laugh.

“Don’t forget to switch out the gear for the average gear!” Mercer called out, reminding them before they exited the fifth floor.