“Not exactly. You were taking something from him, but also giving something of yourself. With this, you simply take the crystal’s energy into yourself. It… allows you to become more powerful. Helps you reach your full potential so that you can gain new skills and spells.”
Keaton stared at her, dumbfounded. “And you kept this from me? Why?”
She winced, ears drooping. “I… I was afraid you would use them on me. All the other dungeon lords have, and I didn’t want the power to somehow corrupt you.” She stared at the floor, her head bowed. “I am so sorry, Lord Keaton. I understand if you wish to banish me.”
“Banish you? What—”
He needed to take care with this; with her. The thought occurred to him as soon as he realized what she’d said about other dungeon lords. Of course she was afraid of him getting powers. Why wouldn’t she be?
Reaching out, Keaton gently slid two fingers beneath her chin. She flinched at his touch and he was prepared to draw back, but she looked up at him with hope in her eyes.
“I’m not going to banish you, Adriana. And I’m also not going to use any powers or anything else on you. I’ll never deliberately do anything to hurt you, and if I do it accidentally, I need you to tell me so I can make it right.”
Her chin trembled against his fingers, but she nodded.
“I get why you were scared. Honestly, this whole thing kinda scares me, too. I don’t even know what will happen to me if I do this. Or to you.” His brow furrowed. “You need to crystal to survive. Isn’t it going to hurt you if I siphon energy from it?”
For a long moment, she just stared at him, the two of them suspended in time. Eventually she shook her head, snapping out of it. “N-no. There is more than enough power in the crystal to sustain your advancement, the dungeon, and my own life force, so long as you’re careful.”
“So long as I don’t go crazy and draw out all of it, huh?” he asked with a grin.
She let out a giggle that dovetailed into a hiccup. “Even you could not survive that, my lord. I would not recommend it.”
The way she was smiling at him, the look in her eyes… it reminded him of last night. When she’d— No. When the daemon had used her likeness without her consent. When she’d glided those sweet lips over his cock, curled that devilish tongue beneath the head—
“Uh…” Keaton cleared his throat, looking away from her. “So how do I… how do I do this?”
“Oh, it starts the same way as interfacing with the crystal.” If she was aware of his awkwardness, she ignored it. Bless her. “You just have to imagine yourself drawing from it instead of just interacting with it.”
“Sounds easy enough.”
Stepping up to the crystal, Keaton let out a breath, rolled his shoulders, then lifted his gauntlet to the shimmering surface. He laid his palm flat against the smooth, fragile crystal, feeling its energy radiate beneath his hand. Closing his eyes, Keaton focused on drawing that energy into himself. Slowly he felt warmth gather in the tips of his fingers, his hand, his arm, until it flowed into his entire body.
His mind went blank, eyes rolling back in his head. Any image he might have had was replaced by a black void, text slowly scrawling across his consciousness.
Choose your advancement:
Survivability
Martial Skill
Spellcasting
Leadership
Survivability sounded the most useful. He selected that, looking at the new options.
Anima Barrier – When a severe impact would critically injure the dungeon lord, an Anima barrier triggers instead, absorbing the blow.
Improved Endurance – Grants the dungeon lord a greater reserve of stamina, allowing them to perform physical activities for longer.
Improved Speed – Grants the dungeon lord more speed, allowing them to sprint faster, dodge easier, and perform tasks more quickly.
Improved Brawn – Grants the dungeon lord a sturdier frame that is more resistant to being knocked back or down and increases the amount of damage they can take.
Resistance to Disease – The dungeon lord becomes immune to common, minor diseases, and highly resistant to more complex diseases.
Resistance to Poison – The dungeon lord becomes immune to minor poison, and highly resistant to more potent poison.
Resistance to Element – The dungeon lord chooses an element. They gain resistance to its extreme effects.
Improved Reflexes – Anima provides a sixth sense, allowing the dungeon lord to more quickly react to danger.
All of those sounded useful, honestly, though some were more situational. Keaton kept them in mind as he browsed the other categories. He skimmed Leadership for now, as the talents there looked more appropriate for a dungeon lord who had lots of minions. Spellcasting was something he wanted to do more of, but the options were so limited. Probably because of his current level.
Martial skill was much more noteworthy and would help him more in his current situation. There were basic combat talents there, and Keaton decided to pick up Disarm, a talent that did exactly what it said on the tin – helped him disarm his opponents through a quick strike. He also picked up Improved Speed and Improved Brawn for now, planning to grab a couple more from that category as soon as he could.
When he pulled his hand away from the crystal, Keaton felt… different. Spryer. Agile. But also tougher. Physically, even his body felt different. It moved in a different way, with a more graceful flow than he was used to; with muscle development he wasn’t used to.
“I didn’t know the changes would be… instant,” he said, resting a hand against his stomach. He was sure his abs hadn’t been this firm yesterday.
“The crystal is a direct source of Anima, and it’s incredibly potent,” Adriana said, though her gaze was on his chest.
“Is something wrong?” Keaton asked, amusement in his tone.
“N-no!” A blush stole across her cheeks and she looked away. “I am sorry, my lord, but perhaps once we get new minions, one of them can be assigned to sewing you some new clothes. That tunic is very tight now. As are the trousers.”
The last she seemed to say to herself, though Keaton heard it. Looking down, he noticed his thighs had definitely gotten bigger, stretching the limits of the fabric. That stretch made his bulge all the more prominent, too. Keaton joined Adriana in blushing.
“I picked up a few skills that should help when we go to recruit more minions,” he said, clearing his throat.
“That is good, though you will still need at least one lieutenant. And, ah… about that—”
Before she could say anything more, a horn blared high above them, the sound of stamping feet dislodging pebbles and dirt from the ceiling.
16
Keaton clutched his dagger as he made his way topside, wishing he’d already had the goblins working on some better arms. They were stretched thin, but there was always the chance this would happen, right? That they would be attacked straight away?
And what did he have to defend himself? A dagger and the brainwashed goblin scout who insisted on accompanying him.
“Am sorry, Lord Keaton! Scout was sleeping, not start patrol yet. This Scout’s fault,” he moaned, dragging his feet behind Keaton.
“Everyone needs sleep,” Keaton said, trying not to sound as annoyed as he felt. “Don’t worry about it, we’ll just… figure it out now.”
Gods, if only he’d taken that talent that was supposed to allow him to see outside of his dungeon. It seemed slightly less important than making himself tougher and more able to withstand an attack, but now he saw those things went hand in hand.
Adriana accompanied him, much to his surprise, and squeezed through the tight tunnel to be by his side. “I do not believe this is an attack, Lord Keaton. The Heroes’ Guild should not know where you are, and Lord Havron was not established enough for them to send a party.”