Unexpected Healer Book 2 -- Chapter 15

Chapter 15

He wasn’t sure if it was some sort of spatial reorganization of the dungeon once he completed it or he had just gotten so turned around while moving through the caves, but when he emerged from the glowing false wall of stone that swung inwards with his touch, Thaden found himself exiting the Magma Dungeon only a dozen feet or so from the entrance.  As it closed behind him, he felt and ignored what seemed to be a very small and brief earthquake under his feet, as if the dungeon was complaining about being completed.  Thinking about what had happened the entire time, he robotically moved through the stone islands above the lake of magma, letting the Salamanders follow him to the entrance; once there, he stood still while they killed themselves from attacking his Fields. 

The Lifewarden didn’t use his Failed Chilling Aura Necklace of Extreme Cold to finish them off faster, because it was obvious from its further-damaged state that it either had a limited number of uses left, or a certain amount of activation time left before it broke completely.  He wasn’t sure which it was, but he figured it didn’t matter; the main point was that he wasn’t going to be using it much unless he absolutely had to. 

Thaden wished it had some sort of description telling him what or why it was happening, but when he looked at the Necklace closely, it had the same description as before.  The only difference was the melted look it had, which was ironic considering that it was used to freeze an entire area, but by its appearance he could make a logical assumption at least of why it looked that way. 

The failed Necklace couldn’t handle the extreme amounts of Mana being funneled into it on a constant basis.  Just as most Human bodies couldn’t handle larger Mana pools without becoming accustomed to them first, the materials in the necklace was starting to break down from the introduction of so much Mana.  Perhaps if it had originally been designed to handle the input of energy it would’ve been fine, but since it wasn’t intended to work that way, its flaws were becoming more and more evident.

  Pushing aside his disappointment, he tried to get excited about the loot he’d acquired from the treasure room at the end of the Magma Dungeon, but it was again largely a bust in terms of items he could actually use.  In the five chests, single weapon rack, and solitary armor stand that was found in the room – the entrance of which was conveniently revealed after the magma river drained away, revealing access to his rewards – there were a number of great items… for other Classes.

For instance, in terms of weapons there was a Sword of Ignition, a Staff of Unending Magma, a Knife of Burning Coal, and a Harp of Burning Strings; they were all Uncommon or Rare pieces for every Class but Support for Levels 40 through 45.  The random pieces of armor he picked up included a cloak for a Scout, a robe for a Mage, and three more pieces to complete the “Flame” set he’d picked up earlier as normal loot for Fighters. 

In other words, he was shafted yet again… except for one single item.

Wolfen Magma Cap

Rarity: Rare

Class Restrictions: Mage, Control, Support

Level Restriction: 42

Physical Damage Resistance: 0

+9 Mentality

+9% increase in casting speed

+9% Heat Resistance

The round, dark red cap amazingly matched his Bloodletter’s Robe in coloration, and it fit snugly over his head without feeling as if it was going to fall off at any time.  The only thing that made it appear a bit gaudy was the fact that it was covered in dark fur along the sides and it glowed with a flickering inner light, which he imagined made him look like a torch in the darkness – at least from far away.  He had put it on earlier in order to get used to the feel, but had to take it off after a minute or so because it was uncomfortably warm.  He imagined it wouldn’t be that bad anywhere else, but it was a bit too much for him right now.

Even when he left the dungeon, he thought he would hesitate to wear it in public, because it would stand out too much.  He’d yet to see any glowing equipment on any Contender, though there were plenty that appeared outlandish or remarkably shiny; if he was the only one with a glowing hat, it would simply attract even more attention that he didn’t need. 

So, overall, he couldn’t complain too much about his rewards, as he’d gotten something that he could actually use, but he wasn’t sure it was completely worth it considering that his new Necklace was breaking. 

Get over it; there’s nothing you can do about it now, and you didn’t know it would happen.  It served its purpose, at least, so stop complaining.

As he extracted loot the corpses of the Salamanders who just finished beating themselves up on his protective Fields, he also thought about what he managed to extract from the Colossus.  It wasn’t something he thought he could use, unfortunately, but it was intriguing, nonetheless.

Weak Heart of the Mountain

Rarity: Epic

Crafting Reagent

An Epic-Rarity Crafting Reagent?  I wonder what can be made with that?  He didn’t have any plans to learn crafting of any kind, but he was sure when he brought it to one of better crafters in the city that they could tell him what it could be used for.

Walking out of the entrance to the large magma-filled cavern, he nearly tripped when another rumble under his feet caught his feet, which he figured was the dungeon’s way of saying good riddance.  Still a bit sore about his Necklace, he flipped it off behind his back as he walked away, before pulling out his other gear that wouldn’t detract from his Personality stat so much.  Once he was good to go with his stats back in order, he trudged back up the tunnel, keeping to the shadows like he had on the way down, which helped to camouflage his presence. 

On the lookout for anyone watching for him, he was relieved when he didn’t see a thing.  Even better, there was no one immediately near the last dungeon turnoff to see him arrive in the area, which allowed him to blend in with those moving back up the tunnel. 

He was feeling rundown by the time he exited, which made sense when he saw that it was already well into the night by that point.  Thankfully, magical lights attached to many of the stone buildings lit up the city brightly enough that he didn’t have to worry about getting lost, and he made it back to the Coalition building without any mishaps.  Looking around the back wall, he still didn’t see anyone watching him, so he quickly removed his key and walked through the opening that appeared, before making his way to his room in a drowsy haze. 

Once inside, he took a very brief shower to wash away the sweat he’d accumulated from the Magma Dungeon, slipped into his comfortable bed, and then proceeded to pass out with a smile on his face from his success in clearing his first dungeon since leaving Ashcleft.

                  *

Waking up in the morning refreshed from his sleep, he lay in bed and decided to finally go over his notifications that he’d been putting off.  While he didn’t want to necessarily Level-up right now, especially if he was going to visit the Forest’s Wrath Dungeon and being at the minimum recommended Level would ensure he received the most PICK, he thought that there were plenty of other notifications that could be useful.

You have slain a Magma Salamander – Minimal – Level 41!

You have received 5 PICK!

You have slain a Magma Wolf – Minimal – Level 42!

You have received 6 PICK!

You have slain a Magma Elemental – Minimal – Level 46!

You have received 92 PICK!

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You have slain a Magma Colossus (Boss) – Minimal – Level 53!

You have received 300 PICK!

PICK reward altered based on 1 party member(s) as well as Level disparity!

You have received 900 PICK!

Support Spellcasting Competency has increased to Level 683!

>>>>>>> 

>>>>>>> 

Support Spellcasting Competency has increased to Level 701!

Defensive Spellcasting Competency has increased to Level 696!

>>>>>>> 

>>>>>>> 

Defensive Spellcasting Competency has increased to Level 729!

You may now select an Advancement for your Defensive Spellcasting Competency!

Defensive Spellcasting Competency has increased to Level 730!

>>>>>>> 

>>>>>>> 

Defensive Spellcasting Competency has increased to Level 742!

Natural Regeneration Competency has increased to Level 12!

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>>>>>>> 

Natural Regeneration Competency has increased to Level 27!

You may now select an Advancement for your Natural Regeneration Competency!

Natural Regeneration Competency has increased to Level 33!

Congratulations for completing the Magma (Anchor) Dungeon on Minimal difficulty!

Achievement received: Let’s Get Ready To Rumble

Bonus reward: 2,500 PICK

Contender World First Achievement: 7,500 PICK

Congratulations for solo completing the Magma (Anchor) Dungeon on Minimal difficulty!

Achievement received: The Heat Never Bothered Me Anyway

Bonus reward: +10% Heat Resistance

Contender World First Achievement: +30% Heat Resistance

You have completed the full requirements for your assigned Dungeon Maintenance Quest!

You have received 10 gold, 10,000 PICK, and 15 Rank Progress up to Gold Rank

A large chunk of PICK flowed into Thaden as he was lying in bed, though it wasn’t nearly as much as he remembered back in Ashcleft.  It was probably due to his higher Level, the fact that more than half of the monsters he killed were under his Level, and he’d only gone through the dungeon twice that made the difference, but he was still happy with what he received.

He also managed to Level-up two Competencies to the point where he had a chance to select an Advancement, one in Defensive Spellcasting and the other in Natural Regeneration.  Support Spellcasting hadn’t risen all that much because he wasn’t constantly casting healing spells to damage Undead, but his defensive spells had certainly gotten a workout – along with his Natural Regeneration from both the extreme heat and cold temperatures he was subjected to over the day.

And then there were the Achievements, which were a surprise.  He had no idea why this particular dungeon had Achievements directly related to it, but he assumed that it was because it had a much higher recommended Level than many of the others in the area.  The name of the first, Let’s Get Ready to Rumble, he could only guess was related to the rumbling he felt under his feet when he left.  Regardless of why it the Achievements existed, he wasn’t going to complain.

Since he'd already decided to put off Leveling-up until after visiting the Forest’s Wrath dungeon, there was only one more thing to do before he got out of bed for the day – and that was to pick his Advancements.  He chose to look at the one for Natural Regeneration first, as it would probably be the easiest decision.

Please select (1) Advancement for your Natural Regeneration Competency:

Quicker Regeneration – Natural Health regeneration is now 50% faster

Firmer Regeneration – Natural Health regeneration now toughens the skin, reducing further damage by 25% for 30 seconds

Deeper Regeneration – Natural Health regeneration now heals major injuries at double the normal regeneration rate

Rougher Regeneration – Natural Health regeneration is 75% slower, but max Health is temporarily increased by 33% for 10 minutes after being fully healed

Softer Regeneration – Natural Health regeneration is 75% faster, but max Health is temporarily decreased by 33% for 10 minutes after being fully healed

Onanistic Override – While solo, Natural Health regeneration speed is doubled, but is halved while in a party

The choice was fairly easy when it came to selecting an Advancement for his Natural Regeneration Competency, as he was most likely going to be solo.  If he was ever in a party, his Health regeneration wasn’t as much of a worry, as he would be unlikely to be taking damage if he had other people to do that for him.  Therefore, Onanistic Override was the perfect Advancement for him – even if the linguistic connotation to the Advancement’s name made him feel a little awkward.

Once that was selected, he turned to his Defensive Spellcasting Competency choice, which was only slightly more difficult.

Please select (1) Advancement for your Defensive Spellcasting Competency:

Faster Protection – All Defensive spells now have a 50% permanent casting time decrease

Longer Protection – All Defensive spells now have a 50% permanent duration increase

Thicker Protection – All Defensive spells now prevent 50% more damage

Hardest Protection – All Defensive spells now protect from sources 20 Levels higher than before

More Extended Protection – All single-target Defensive spells now extend to protect 2 additional targets

Disease Protection – All Defensive spells now temporarily protect against Burning, Charmed, Poisoned, and Sleep afflictions

Rejection Protection – All Defensive spells now give the recipient a 100% bonus to hit accuracy on their next strike

Abstinence Protection – Upon preventing damage, all Defensive spells now grant the protected 10 seconds of immunity to all damage, followed by 60 seconds where they cannot be protected by any spells or effects that reduce or negate damage

As interesting as the new Abstinence Protection Advancement choice was, it absolutely did not work for him; being unable to protect himself for 60 seconds after preventing damage would kill him faster than jumping into a lake of magma.  Instead, after looking over all his options, he decided to go all-in on raising the source Level of damage for all his spells by another 10, taking Hardest Protection as his selection.  He now had the ability to prevent damage from up to Level 100 sources with his Fields, which made him a little more likely to attempt some of the harder dungeons he was aware of thanks to the information the Vice-Leader of the Coalition provided.

With all of his notifications and selections finished, Thaden finally got up for the day.

After all, he had a blackmailing French woman to meet in a few hours and he didn’t want to be late, lest she decide to start blabbing all his secrets to one and all.