Shadowcroft Academy Year 2 - Chapter Twenty-One

Logan stood in front of a full-length mirror in Treacle’s room, which was part machine-shop and part steampunk mad scientist’s laboratory. Little mechanical creatures marched here and there, and every so often, a fork of lightning would erupt from some contraption somewhere.

However, there were some homey elements as well. A merry fire crackled in the fireplace. A thick scarlet comforter lay on a bed half-covered in clockwork gears. A small army of plastic garden gnomes lined one wall. Steve the mannequin sat by the fire with a pipe held to his fake face as if he were smoking. The dummy looked none the worse for wear after his time away from his creator.

Logan stood in front of the baroque mirror staring at his very new body.

He narrowed his black eyes, which were a few shades darker than his skin and far oilier. And yet, they were large and expressive. He made faces at himself, opening and closing his mouth. He had only the slight bump of a nose, though he could smell things through his spores. His mushroom cap was wider than it had been before, less floppy and more round. “I’m getting a shitake vibe from my mushroom cap.”

“You shouldn’t say such mean things about yourself.” Marko half hid his smirk with a frown. “I don’t think it looks like shi—”

“I said shitake,” Logan interrupted before the satyr could finish. “It’s a type of mushroom. I like the off-gray of the gills, the rounded corners, and I have to say, the little mushrooms growing off me are kind of cool.” He swiveled back and forth, noting the little gray growths that spread across his shoulders, chest, and arms.

He turned in a slow circle. It was a little strange not to be dwarfed by the seven-foot-tall minotaur. Logan put himself at about six foot two, which meant he was only a little taller than Inga and definitely taller than Marko.

The satyr toyed with his hairy chin. “Well now, the mushroom has sprouted. You were a Shroomian acolyte. What are we now? Fungal giant? Portobello Bigness? Toadstool Terror? Or should I call you He-Who-Is-Annoyingly-Taller-Than-His-Goat-Friend?”

“I like that last one. A little wordy though.” Logan patted the horned head of the satyr. “Actually, I’m a Nightfell Monarch.” He had on his battle skirt, but otherwise, his torso was open to the air. He had an expansive chest, smooth and strong, though his arms were odd. He held out his pipe-thin arms, capped by thick Popeye forearms. Each hand had three stubby fingers and a thumb. “Well, don’t leave me hanging. What do you guys think of my new form?”

The minotaur was sitting at his workbench, but he’d turned his chair to face them. He regarded Logan through hooded eyes, his lips pulled down in a frown. Resting Treacle face, Logan called that one. He had a screw drive in one hand and a brass orb, sparking with errant bolts of lightning in the other. After a moment he snorted and twitched his ears. “You still look spongey.”

Logan patted the chitin lines on his arms. “I can thicken up pretty easily, even without my ring’s armor. But point taken.”

Marko plucked one of his gray shoulder mushrooms off.

“Ouch!” Logan rubbed at the spot. “Don’t!”

The satyr winced. “Sorry. I had to check. Don’t worry, I won’t eat it.” He tossed it into the fire.

When Inga circled, her antennae went crazy. “This is remarkable! Yes, your physical integrity isn’t that of the minotaur, however, if you used your Exoskeleton ability, I can see how you might become truly fearsome. Perhaps you should test it out.”

Logan channeled his Apothos into his natural armor. He grew taller and wider, now covered in an exoskeleton of hardened fungal growths.

Logan then triggered one of his rings, summoning his magical armor. In a glimmer of silver light, a spiked pauldron appeared along with a leather war belt, and thick leather greaves and matching bracers. Miraculously, the conjured armor expanded to fit his new form like a glove.

Marko’s mouth dropped open.

Logan felt good for a minute. Now he could physically intimidate any dungeoneer unwise enough to raid his lair.

The good feeling vanished when the satyr started laughing. “I’m sorry, I tried to be scared, but you’re still the cute little fungaloid we know and love.”

Inga clapped her hands at the party goat. “Stop it, Marko. Logan’s new form is intimidating, the extra mushroom growths are disconcerting. But enough of this. Logan, what of your new abilities? Before, you mentioned you chose a definite path that would aid us in our efforts. The fungaloid form was never going to be as fearsome as say, an abyss lord. However, as we’ve seen, you have powerful magic. Would you care to show us the extent of your new powers?”

Logan pulled up his matrix.

                                                                          <<< ۝>>>

Logan Murray

Guardian Core Matrix

Base Race:Fungaloid

Current Evolution:Nightfell Monarch

Cultivator Class: Azure Branch Cultivator; B-Class, Rank 10

Primary Elemental Affinities:Morta/Toxicus

Racial Abilities:

- Digestion (Updated!)

Racial Skill:

- Domestic Fungi

Level-One Proto-Spore Cultures

- Opal Truffles, Mucal Film, Ghoul’s Snare, Blister Wart, God’s Eye Caps

- New spores available!

Level-Two Proto-Spore Cultures

- Braincaps, Gem-studded Puffballs, Skullcaps

o New spores available!

Level-Three Proto-Spore Cultures

- Spore Wargs

o New spores available!

- Level-Four Proto-Spore Cultures

o New spores available!

Fungal Form (Active):

- Exoskeleton

- Pneumacity (UPDATED!)

Fungal Form (Passive):

- Fungal Vision

- Disease Immunity

- Poison Immunity

- Blindness Immunity (NEW!)

- Replicate (UPDATED!)

Spore Halo:

- Pollinic Affliction (UPDATED!)

- Symbiosis (UPDATED!)

- Athlete’s Foot (UPDATED TO ATHLETE’S AILMENT!)

- Rapid Growth (UPDATED!)

- Narcotic (UPDATED!)

                                                                                 <<<>>>

Logan noticed that there were a variety of happy NEW! and UPDATED! messages littered across his matrix. This was different than when he’d upgraded himself to C-Class but becoming an Azure Branch Cultivator was rare. His core was thrumming with the torrent of energy flowing through him.

Since they were symbiotically bound, Inga could naturally see what Logan was seeing. But the others couldn’t. Trying to talk through all this information would be a nightmare.

“This is going to go so much faster if we’re just bonded,” he said.

With a thought, Logan released a wave of Symbiotic spores, which came drifting lazily out of the gills from his darkened cap. “Make sure to breathe them in. All aboard the train to Sporesville. Population: Us.”

Marko inhaled and held the spores in his lungs. “Yep, that’s the stuff!” he wheezed.

Treacle said nothing but let his nostrils flare as he sucked in a lungful of the dancing spores.

Marko Laskarelis and Treacle Glimmerhappy have accepted Symbiotic Bonding!

Notice: As the Infecting Agent, you alone can terminate the Symbiotic bond. In addition, you will receive 10% of all Apothos cultivated by Marko Laskarelis and Treacle Glimmerhappy from this point forward. Bonding initiating in 3… 2… 1…

The spores quickly took root and spread through his two new hosts. Tiny crystalline mushrooms appeared on their shoulders. Both shivered as a crown of delicate, crystalline mushrooms appeared on their heads, linking them into Logan’s Core. Logan felt a flash of their emotions—Marko a mixture of excitement and sheer boredom, Treacle a bog of existential dread and overwhelming exhaustion. Though there was also something else, subtly undercutting Treacle’s emotions. Logan wasn’t quite sure what it was, and although he new he could use his Symbiotic abilities to find out, he didn’t. They were friends, and Logan wasn’t going to pry at whatever was going on with Treacle until the minotaur was ready to share on his own.

Inga didn’t seem to notice any of that. She was tapping at her lips while she considered Logan’s Guardian Core Matrix. “Now this is going to take some time. There is a great deal of information to digest here.”

“Thankful it looks like my Digestion ability has updated,” Logan replied with a grin.

Treacle groaned. “Oh no… The puns are getting worse.”

Marko snorted. “I’m all for the puniness. Not so much for all the updates. To be honest, this sounds super boring.” He sighed and raised his hands in surrender. “But hey, I’m here you, buddy.” Marko found a seat on a half-constructed mechanical bull with metal crossbows for horns. “I’ll get comfortable. Although before we really dive in, I feel the need to ask whether there are any mushrooms that might make this a little less dull?”

“Actually, I think so.” Logan deactivated his magical armor and dismissed the Apothos for his Exoskeleton with a thought. “I’ve read up on my spore halo abilities. I should probably warn you, though, that some might destroy your mind permanently.”

“Sorry, bro,” Marko shrugged. “The last Cherry Wine Festival and Beach Body Bonanza beat you to it.”

That made Logan laugh. “Then I think it’ll be for the best if we’re all sober for this.” He turned to face Inga, who was too excited to sit. Logan nodded. “Okay, let’s move from the top of the matrix and make our way down. We’ll save the proto spore cultures for last, since I’ll have to choose from a list. I’ve been studying my options, and I think I know what I want, but I’d still like some input.”

Inga’s eyes were positively glowing. “Let’s start with your digestion.”

Treacle swallowed down some masticated grass. “Hopefully you’ll get an extra stomach or three. Cud chewing is one of the last of my dwindling pleasures.”

Logan went over his updated digestion ability.

                                                                                    <<<>>>

Digestion:Consume immobile and dead creatures to absorb more of their core-essence, and instantlyconvert it to usable Apothos. Fungi are nothing if not efficient, and that efficiency is on full display in the digestion ability!

At B Class

o Digestion converts 15% consumable mass directly into additional Apothos.

o Digestion instantly converts 70% of all Apothos with an Elemental Affinity into Pure Apothos.

o Create up to (3) Acidic Digestion Pits in your Dungeon to aid in your digestion efforts!

o Reclamation/Reconstitution. The Fungi can consume inorganic matter such as weapons, armor, metals, and fabrics, breaking them down and reclaiming the items as base usable crafting components. Reclaim 50% of the item into raw material!

o Muscle Memory. As the saying goes, You are what you eat, and that has never been truer than for a fungaloid. Gain a 2% chance to randomly learning a physical skill or ability from a digested foe!

                                                                                    <<<>>>

Logan skimmed through the first three bullet points. These matched the digestion skills he already possessed, but they were enhanced to give him more Apothos. He could now also reclaim 50% of inorganic matter, converting it into raw crafting materials—that was a ten percent increase. All good, but nothing truly groundbreaking. Inga immediately focused on the last bullet point—a brand new ability.

“Logan,” she said, sounding rather shocked, “this Muscle Memory skill is incredible—I’ve simply never heard of anything quite like it. Assuming I’m reading this correctly, if you were to eat Marko, there is a chance you might randomly learn one of his physical abilities. Why you could be performing Nataraja’s Wretched Rhythm by night’s end if you were hungry and lucky enough.”

“Impossible! No one can match the funky fresh hoof work of yours truly.” Marko hooked a thumb at his chest.

Treacle snorted. “Maybe we can make Logan scary by throwing Chadrigoth into a digestion pit. He’d get horns, muscles, a tail.”

Inga quirked an eyebrow. “I don’t think Logan would get any of Chadrigoth’s physical attributes or any of the abyss lord’s summoning spells. However, Logan might get his dark fire or any of his combat abilities. It’s called ‘Muscle Memory,’ so I think it must be a physical skill honed by years of practice. We’ll have to study this more carefully, though, it is rather without precedent.”

“Not sure we’ll have much of a chance to study it since it’s only got a two percent chance of happening.”

Inga shook her head. “Not at all. Two percent may seem low but imagine how old most dungeon cores are. Shadowcroft is what? Ten thousand years old? Perhaps more? He’s likely killed thousands or even tens of thousands of dungeoneers during his tenor as a guardian. Statistically, for every fifty dungeoneers you vanquish and digest you will learn one new physical ability. And there’s no saying this won’t work on dungeon minions. Perhaps if we were to feed Steve into one of your pits, you could learn one of its abilities.”

Steve’s joints squawked violently in protest.

“Don’t worry, Steve, we aren’t going to feed you into a digestion pit. It is interesting though,” he said, thinking of Rockheart’s Doomhounds. It would be awesome if he could get some sort of passive fire resistance by eating enough of those things. He’d certainly killed fifty of them since starting school.

Well talk more about that later,” he said, pushing thoughts of deep fried Doomhound to the back of his mind. “We still have a lot to go through. Active and Passive Fungal Forms are next.”

Inga spread her wings and flapped them a little. “It looks like I won’t be the only one that will be able to take to the air.”

That grabbed Marko’s attention. “No way! So not only can Logan breath underwater but he can also fly? Not fair!”

“I can’t breathe under water. I don’t have those kind of gills.” Logan was confused for a second, until he saw what Inga was talking about. “At B-Class, my Pneumacity ability allows me to float short distances. I don’t think I’ll be able to take off and zoom around the sky like Superman.”

“And this Superman wouldn’t happen to be an unwelcome cultural reference, now, would it, Logan?” Inga’s antenna were pulled in tight.

Marko saved. “No, Inga, he meant Supermoth! He meant you!”

Even if Logan could only float, he had to try out that skill immediately. He turned on Pneumacity and he felt the gills fill with air. He took off at a sprint and pushed open Treacle’s door. A second later, he was floating in mid-air at the top of the Ladder Hole. In this state, his body was even more fragile, but he still enjoyed the sensation. He felt like an old helium balloon that had lost some of the potency. He slowly sank down past Inga’s room, then past Marko’s room, until he was at the bottom of the ladder. Logan switched off the ability and felt his skin harden a bit.

Unfortunately, floating was not quite flying, so he had to clamber up the ladder to get back to Treacle’s room.

Inga had watched his first attempt at Pneumatic Flight. “Yes, Logan! I can see how you would be able to fly short distances, if you were thrown, or if you took a running leap.”

“Or were kicked off a cliff!” Marko shouted from his seat on Treacle’s crossbow bull.

Logan sighed happily. “The new Pneumacity ability works well.”

“New Pneumacity!” Marko laughs. “Fun with assonance.”

Inga was impressed. “Assonance as the repetition of vowel sounds as a literary device. Very nice, Marko.”

Logan got them back on track. “Okay, not only can I fly—sort of—but I can’t be blinded now, so that’s good.”

“I can blind you,” Mark insisted. “With my radiant wit.”

Treacle grumbled. “No. I don’t think that will be an issue.” There was an explosion behind him, and for a second, electricity sparkled between Treacle’s horns.

Inga ignored them both. “Yes, I saw the Blindness Immunity. That is interesting. As for Replicate, let’s see the upgrade.”

He focused on that ability.

                                                                               <<<>>>

· Replicate: It is but a flesh wound! You’re a fungus, and wounds that might maim or incapacitate others are to you nothing more than a minor inconveniences. At early levels, Replicate allows you to rapidly regrow lost limbs while at higher levels hacked off body parts can he triggered to rapidly grow into ferocious minions!

§ At C-Class, Lost body parts rapidly regrow

§ At B-Class, Lost body parts have a 10% chance of transforming into  a Spore Warg.

§ At A-Class, Lost body parts have a 20% chance of transforming into a Spore Warg, a 10% chance of transforming into a Deathcap, and a 5% chance of transforming into a Mycotic Shamble (Locked)

                                                                                <<<>>>

Logan blinked away any tears. He still couldn’t believe he had this ability. He lost a his leg outside of Fallujah to an IED and had spent several years coming to terms with that fact. He couldn’t believe that he had a body that could not only re-grow limbs but could turn the lost appendage into a minion. Amazing didn’t even begin to cover it.

In some ways, being at Shadowcroft was hard, a nightmare of dungeons, tests, and toil. In in other ways, it was a dream come true.

Marko slipped off the bull and came over. He put a hand on Logan’s arm. “Are you gonna be okay, buddy?”

Logan patted his friend’s furry hand. “Yeah. I’m just a little overwhelmed is all. If you cut off my arm, there’s a decent chance it’ll sprout legs and attack you. Guy can’t ask for much more than that.”

“Now you know how I feel!” Marko said loudly. “It’s like how Steve is connected to me!”

The mannequin raised the unlit pipe in a salute.

“I’m never going to get any sleep,” Treacle moaned. “All of this is very moving, but if we’re going to be choosing more of Logan’s mushroom powers, we have to move things along.”

They were down to Logan’s Spore Halo abilities. Logan explained them quickly. “Okay, so my Spore Halos are the spores I leak from my gills, so really, they’re mostly my personal combat mushrooms.”

Mark clicked his tongue and shot Logan a finger gun. “Battle fungus. Got it. Can you give me an example?”

“Yes, Pollinic Affliction. When I first started, Pollinic Affliction would make people sniffle, or sneeze, or make their eyes run a little.”

Marko toyed with his goatee. “Yes. I remember. Positively diabolical.”

“It’s getting there.” Logan grinned. “Now, when I hit people with my war pollen, I can do so much more. He looked at his updated stats.

                                                                                 <<<>>>

Pollinic Affliction: As an Azure Branch cultivator, the fungaloid’s pollen will swamp the eyes, nose, and lungs of their enemies. This cloud of spores has the possibility of disabling or even killing.

- 30% chance of causing shortness of breath

- 15% chance of causing blindness

- 9% chance of anaphylactic shock

- 5% chance of mortal sneezing.

                                                                                <<<>>>

“There’s a five percent change that people now will die of mortal sneezing,” Logan said. “Only the Claritin clear will survive.”

“Not that we know what that is,” Inga complained. “But yes, your pollen has become far more formidable, there can be no doubt about that. Also, your Symbiosis ability has improved. At B-Class you can bind yourself with five hosts.”

Logan pulled up those settings.

                                                                               <<<>>>

Symbiosis: As an Azure Branch cultivator, it is possible to use the Symbiosis ability with more than one host. You may pair with multiple dungeoneers—acting as an Eldritch Patron—or use your ability in tandem with additional dungeon cores, creating a unique relationship where a single dungeon could host multiple cores.

Alert! As an Azure Branch cultivator (B-Class, Rank 10), you have the ability to bond with up to five different hosts at the same time.

Restrictions! All fungaloids can naturally bond with one Prime Host but maintaining a symbiotic connection with more than the Prime Host is a taxing process that can only be maintained for a limited period of time. Note, when the time allotment elapses, the secondary Hosts will be released, though the Prime Host will remain infected! Note: To increase your infection time allotments, cultivate more Core Knots, which will allow for greater focus and more efficient Apothos utilization!

Prime Host = Permanent Bond

Prime Host + 1 = 24 Hours

Prime Host + 2 = 12 Hours

Prime Host + 3 = 8 Hours

Prime Host + 4 = 4 Hours

                                                                               <<<>>>

“More dungeon cores means more fun,” Marko said happily. “But what about narcotics, my fungaloid friend. I thought you said you had some fun mushrooms—that’s what I really want to know about!”

“We’re getting there,” Logan said. “But let’s see about my updated Athlete’s Foot first.”

Marko’s eyes narrowed. “The most fiendish of locker room related diseases.”

Inga’s eyes widened when she saw that those spores could do.

                                                                               <<<>>>

Athlete’s Ailment: Release a burst of spores that causes severe burning between the toes and along the soles of the feet. This isn’t you’re typical cause of locker room athlete’s foot—oh no. If left untreated, Athlete’s alignment can lead to rapid onset gangrene, literally causing the feet to rot off! You won’t have a foot to stand on!

§ At B-Class, Athlete’s Foot morphs into its more potent form, Athlete’s Ailment is a disease that literally causes a dungeoneers feet to rot off.

- At B-Class, Ranks 10-6

- 50 % chance of causing burning and itching on any dungeoneer with toes. Any normal foot odor will be doubled, much to the embarrassment of the raider.

- 25% chance of causing permanent foot damage to any dungeoneer wearing any sort of footwear. All necrotic flesh must be removed, or those suffering from Athlete’s Ailment will die from septic shock.

                                                                                  <<<>>>

When Inga relayed the information, Marko laughed. “Once more, the benefits of having hooves! I can’t go back! I won’t go back!”

“I miss boot shopping,” Treacle muttered and screwed something into a mechanical sphere he was tinkering on. “Gnomes are well known for their love of fine foot ware. Yet another pleasure stripped from my empty existence.”

“Classic Treacle,” Marko said, hooking a thumb at the minotaur.

Inga squinted. “Rapid Growth has been upgraded with faster growth time. That’s useful. And it appears that at B-Class, you also get to unlock an entirely new Spore Halo ability. You have a choice of three options. Psychedelic, Narcotic, or Mycelia Gargantua.” Inga held up a hand. “Wait. The Mycelia Gargantua won’t be available until A-Class. Then Logan will be truly terrible to behold. Horrific beyond imagination.”

Logan read through all three options for spore halos out loud, even though he didn’t have access to the last one.

                                                                                  <<<>>>

Possible B-Class Spore Halo Options (Choose One)

· Psychedelic: If inhaled, Psychedelic spores can cause dizziness, disorientation, loss of equilibrium, and both visual and audial hallucinations. At lower ranks, the fungaloid cannot manipulate the hallucinations. There is a 15% chance to trigger the B-Class Psychedelic effect, known as the Bad Trip, which causes a full-fledged terror to take hold of the target until the spores wear off. The A-Class Psychedelic spores, known as the Looking Glass Effect, creates a mental link with the affected party where the fungaloid can shape the hallucinogenic experience in profound ways. For divine-level fungaloids, there has even been rumor that the mushroom lord can turn hallucinations into reality! This is sometimes known as the Maximoff effect.

· Narcotic: If inhaled, these spore causes creatures to experience a brief bout of Euphoria, slowing their reaction time and making them far less susceptible to aggressive action. At higher levels, Narcotic can become so potent that it creates a side-effect known as Agaric Addiction. Those cursed with Agaric Addiction will become a willing servant in order to get another round of spores. Be warned! Fungaloids that possess the Narcotic ability are often hunted down and harvested by criminal organizations to create substances of a nefarious nature such as Muze Blood and Avens Nether.

· Mycelia Gargantua (A-Class Only and Three Knot Requirement): These spores harness the power of Rapid Growth and Exoskeleton to add layer upon layer of fungal chitin to massively increase the size of the fungaloid to become a Kaiju-level monster. While these spores are harmless to those who breath them in, the Apothos-fueled fungi will first double, then triple, then quadruple the size of the fungaloid guardian form, turning them into a fungus of mass destruction, or FMD.

                                                                                  <<<>>>

Logan scratched his new mushroom cap. “Wow. Mushroom Godzilla. And it’s interesting that I would need three knots. It’s something to think about. But you’re right, Inga. I would finally be intimidating. But it looks like my choices at this level are Psychedelic or Narcotic. Well, hmm. Which should I choose?”

“Narcotic,” Marko said quickly.

Inga looked disgusted. “We know, Marko we know. You like to party like it’s one of your Sangretta beach debauches. But we have to be serious now. We will likely be pairing up again so we need to choose abilities that are likely to support all of us—not just your bad habits.”

The satyr touched his chest and looked hurt. “I’m hurt. And for your information, I am being serious. Once I ascend to Azure Branch, I’ll have access to psychedelic abilities of my own, so I’d hate to double up on potential abilities. I’ll be able to send dungeoneers on a bad trip, but I can’t chain them to me through some kind of crazy addiction. This seems like the best choice if we’re going to team up again.”

Inga winced. “Sorry. You’re right.”

Marko smirked and waved away her apology. “You’re good. Yeah, I joke a lot, but I’m determined not to put us in the same situation that I did last year. You guys pulled my satyr bacon out of the fire and I’m not going to make the same mistakes again. When its time to party, I know how to party, but when it comes to dungeons this goat is all slayer. With the Addiction ability, Logan will have to watch out for the Eritrean and Bharooshian mafia bosses, but he’ll have us to watch his back.”

Logan had to appreciate that. “Yeah, I’ll be like Gale Boetticher, and you all will be like Gus Fring, protecting me.” He winked at Inga. “Now that is a culturally specific reference based on a TV show back at home. And I’m not sorry, you’re never going to break me of my badhabits.”

Inga wasn’t impressed. “Yes, yes, your Uroth culture is so fascinating, however, we still have your other spores to choose. And we should really discuss what happened to Tet.”

Mentioning Tet certainly sobered everyone up quickly—a reminder that this wasn’t a game and that there was someone in Shadowcroft who seemed to be actively gunning for students…students close to Logan and his friends.

Logan jumped into the proto-spore descriptions despite Treacle’s sighs. It was almost midnight, and it had been a long day. Logan, however, couldn’t stop. A whole new world of power was opening up to him.