Divine Awakening - Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Nomad sat in front of Ash. “What was that thing?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

“You seem a little jumpy.”

Ash sighed. "Sorry." Then he told a half-truth. "My display keeps appearing suddenly, and it's giving me problems."

Nomad squeezed his eyes tightly and rubbed them. "I know. Everyone’s attributes just appeared five minutes ago. You’re the only one I haven't checked with."

"Yeah, I can see them, but I haven’t assigned any of my points."

"Me either. Everest is arguing with Wiki and, of all people, Fletcher about game theory and maximizing one attribute. I had no idea Fletcher was such a game nerd. I thought all that guy did was spar and go to the gym."

Ash thought for a moment before responding. "The danger keeps ramping up, and the dungeon seems designed to keep fights chaotic."

"Agreed. It’s one of the reasons I came to talk with you. I’m gathering everyone who has played a lot of video games, watched anime, or read a significant amount of fantasy. Maybe there’s some common strategies we can use."

"Good idea. Does that mean we’re staying here for a bit?"

"If you agree to it, yes. We left the base at the end of the day, so it's the middle of the night. I’d like to let everyone rest for a few hours and process what we’ve experienced. I talked with Crash, so our connection with the captain still works, and she’s okay with it."

"You want me to scan the tunnels a little better?"

Nomad grinned. "Are you a mind reader now?"

In reality, Ash’s Throat chakra had clued him into the fact Nomad had a question he hadn’t asked. It didn’t take too much effort to guess what Nomad could want but might feel awkward about asking immediately.

Ash gave the green beret a reassuring smile. "No mind reading yet. I’ll go verify the tunnels now."

"Thanks. This is a weird question, but you’ve been on your own, so I want to verify your experience—have you eaten or drunk anything since getting here? What about the bathroom?"

Ash had long since discarded any dependence on a normal schedule for things like that. Stopping to use the bathroom during training wasn’t a valid excuse but a sign of weakness. Grandpa would always say he’d never met an enemy that would pause a fight so their opponent could pee.

"No," Ash responded. "I’m not even thirsty."

"Exactly," Nomad said, leaning forward intently. He raised his left wrist and tapped the band. "Nobody has wanted food, water, or used the bathroom since we put these on."

Ash concentrated on his body and realized he wasn't passively suppressing any needs.

Nomad continued, "The only thing remaining seems to be sleep. People are still tired."

"That’s really interesting."

"Agreed. Let me know if anything changes with you. I’ll keep one person at the mouth of each tunnel and the stairs coming down from that temple just in case. It will double our time here, but I don’t want to depend on you a hundred percent only to find out this dungeon screws with your abilities somehow. Better safe than sorry."

Ash appreciated Nomad’s caution. He already felt responsible for keeping everyone safe, and knowing they had a fallback plan if the unexpected happened was a huge relief. Not only that, but six people would be awake and alert to deal with any incursions.

"Schedule is already made," Nomad said. "All I ask is you check the tunnels now, and again when you wake up."

"Will do."

"Thanks, Shamrock."

Nomad stood, and Ash did as well. The longer break would allow Ash to get some much-needed practice in. He strode toward the nearest tunnel.

Until a week ago, he wouldn’t have worried about practicing his Bamboo Viper Step forms. He’d considered himself an expert after all, so why bother practicing? Now, however, Grandmaster Echo had stripped him of such fantasies. In fact, he had so much to work on it almost overwhelmed him. She’d taken his capacity to learn to the very limit, further displaying how masterful Sisen Echo was.

Ash found himself wondering when he’d see the woman again. She looked his age but was over a hundred years old. It made his head hurt thinking about that.

The break would also let Ash do some much-needed chakra meditation. The forms Elder Phoenix had shown Ash would be a little trickier. He might just do the meditation part and avoid the forms for now. Although, nobody here would know the difference between the Cultivation forms and his Bamboo Viper Steps.

"Hey Blueprint," Ash said as he neared the tunnel.

The combat engineer held her rifle comfortably and only spared Ash a quick glance before returning her attention to the tunnel. "What’s up, Shamrock?"

"Nomad wants me to scout the tunnels a bit more thoroughly."

"Roger that. Give me some warning when you’re on the way back so I don’t shoot you." She wrinkled her nose. "You smell like a bag of ass. Did those beetles take a dump on you?"

Hidden in the comments, Ash’s Throat chakra detected the offered connection. This was how Blueprint felt out a new teammate.

Ash purposefully stepped closer to Blueprint and returned her smile. "No, that’s not the beetles you smell. I crapped myself when the skeletons appeared. Nomad said you packed the TP."

Blueprint grinned. "Negative. Figure it out, Ranger."

Ash looked down at his bare chest and ripped jeans, stained with scarab guts and eel blood. Maybe he’d stumble on a lake or something. If not, he might be forced to take those cleaning spells.

Ash sighed and moved away from Blueprint. "Well, that leaves me with duct tape and motivation."

Blueprint laughed. "You just described the last four years of my life."

Ash continued down the passage, pushing out Lesser Ripple in a sphere until it overcame his Mental Regen.

The tunnel stretched straight ahead—its smooth stone walls illuminated by the flickering light of torches that lined the passage every ten feet. Sumerian symbology covered the walls and ceiling. They depicted winged gods, bearded kings, and mythical creatures, their once-sharp edges now softened by the passing of millennia.

The oppressive air carried the scent of old incense mixed with the dusty odor of stone. Ash’s mouth felt dry, and he could still feel crustiness on his teeth, likely from the insides of some creature he’d killed. His hair felt stiff to the touch for the same reasons, and he decided Blueprint had only been half-joking. He likely looked like a frightening mess.

Ash traveled five hundred feet from the central chamber before stopping. He removed his pack from the Belt of Swans, took a mouthful of water from his canteen, and swished it around his mouth.

Not wanting to swallow the awful remnants, Ash spit the water onto the stone floor.

Ash returned the pack to Inventory. Five hundred feet was plenty, he decided. He would scout out the other four tunnels and then figure out what spell choices he’d gained for dinging level three.

Third Eye exerted pressure, urging Ash backward. The sensation contained a moderate amount of impending danger, but his Root hadn’t flared to life, meaning he could likely handle whatever danger might arrive. Regardless, Third Eye definitely didn’t want him standing here.

Ash jumped backward and concentrated on his surroundings, trying to determine the danger lurking nearby.

The water Ash spit onto the floor soaked into the stone, leaving a streak of dampness. The patch of moisture roiled; then, ten feet in front of Ash, a creature rose from the floor.

The monster had a withered, ghostly appearance, with desiccated skin stretched over gaunt bones. Its hollow eyes glowed with red light, and Ash looked away as a terrible thirst came over him, one that felt like it could never be quenched.

The air filled with static electricity as the creature sucked every bit of moisture from the surroundings. The stone below it cracked. It didn’t breathe, but its ragged clothing rasped against the floor, a sound like shifting sand.

Information about the wraith appeared:

Name: Parched Wraith

Type: Undead

Level: 6

Description: Parched Wraiths are the remains of those taken by the desert. Their thirst is eternal and unquenchable.

Damage: 5-10 Elemental

Effect (Passive): Immune to physical attacks and takes reduced damage from non-elemental magic.

Effect (Passive): Detects elemental water within a 100-foot radius

Effect (Passive): Desiccating Aura that reduces the moisture in the surrounding environment, weakening nearby enemies over time. Damage based on level.

Effect (Triggered): Water Tap - Drains moisture from a living target, dealing 25 damage and reducing the target's stamina by 10%.

The wraith seemed intent on sucking every bit of moisture from the stone Ash had spit on.

Ash reached out to Nomad over chat. It’s lucky nobody needs to pee because any moisture touching the ground attracts Parched Wraiths.

Roger. Do you need assistance?

No, I think I’m okay. I’ll retreat if I can’t handle it. I’m in Blueprint’s tunnel.

I’ll grab Grizzly and reinforce Blueprint. Let us know if you need help.

Will do.

The Parched Wraith finished with the floor and turned its thirsty eyes to Ash.