“Well, that isn’t entirely true,” the Dungeon said. “There are many martial techniques that require the speed and power gained through cultivation.”
Roy landed his kick and reset his stance. What the Dungeon said was true. The vast majority of martial techniques did require superhuman levels of strength and speed. Some even required specific Advancement Paths, but he’d only ever studied the ones which he himself might have had a chance of mastering.
“Do you know any cultivation techniques?” Roy asked, finally relaxing and sitting down with his back to the Dungeon wall.
The giant ferret was still in the cavern with him, but it had gone to sleep. Even now, he could see its body rising and falling in a slow rhythm.
“I do know a few, but none of them would work for you until you’ve passed the trial.”
“So, what are we waiting for, let’s go do the trial,” Roy answered.
He looked around for the portal that was supposed to appear but didn’t see anything.
“It normally takes a few hours for the portal to appear once a core has been formed,” the Dungeon said, once again seeming to read his mind. “This gives the Martial Artist time to adapt before being thrown into mortal danger.”
Roy sighed, already wishing to be gone from this place. It would be daylight in a few hours, and others of the Shah clan would undoubtedly be coming down to challenge the Dungeon. Speaking of which…
“What will happen to this place once we leave?” he asked the Dungeon. “And what do I call you, do you have a name?” The Dungeon was clearly a living entity, and an intelligent one, so it would be impolite to keep referring to it as just Dungeon.
“I don’t actually have a name, but seeing as I’ll be leaving this place, I suppose it’s only proper…” the Dungeon trailed off for a few moments, as though in thought. “How about Geon?”
Roy thought about that for a few moments. It wasn’t anything he’d call another person, but seeing as it was a Dungeon core, it suited him.
“Yeah, Geon is a good name,” he replied with a grin.
“Now, as for what will happen to this place… It’ll end up like all Dungeons that lose their cores. The Essence will linger for about a week, after which it will start to fade. All of the Beasts will cease reforming, and the herbs will stop growing. Then, the portal will vanish, and the Dungeon will be no more.”
Roy felt his grin grow even wider at that. The Shah clan depended heavily on the Dungeon as a source of income for the clan. They used it to train their young and sold the Essence-rich herbs growing in there to other clans for pills and elixirs. With it gone, it would effectively cripple their economy. This opened up a new question for him.
“Will you be able to do anything once we leave? Like, create Beasts or rare herbs?”
Roy heard a mental sigh at that question.
“No. Since I’ve become bonded to you, my control over the Dungeon is already fading. I can no longer create herbs or Beasts, though I can still exert control over them and keep them from attacking us.”
Roy could hear the regret in that statement and couldn’t help but ask. “If you’re really going to lose all your abilities, why agree to leave, and why me of all people?”
Geon was silent for a few moments after he asked that question, but Roy didn’t push him for an answer.
“I have been alive for centuries now. In the beginning, all I was focused on was gaining power and building my Dungeon. Every day I grew stronger, expanding my influence and difficulty. Soon, I was too powerful for Yellows and Oranges, and even some Greens were having a difficult time. Stronger and stronger Martial Artists would come visit, and I would kill them all. By the time people stopped coming, my Dungeon was massive, spanning fifteen different levels and sporting over forty varieties of Beasts. The Essence I created was the richest for hundreds of miles around. However, I had grown too powerful.
I thought myself invincible and was consumed by arrogance and false pride. That was, until one day, when two people came. Naturally, I threw everything I had against them. However, I misjudged their strength. They decimated my Beasts, foiled my traps, and made it all the way down to the bottom level. There, they faced my Guardian, the most powerful creature I could create.
They destroyed it too. Then, they pulled my core from the walls. I thought they were going to kill me, but instead, they somehow stripped me of the majority of my power. They then placed a seal on my core, preventing me from ever advancing past Yellow again. My Dungeon collapsed and I was left with what you see now. I’ve been trapped this way for the last four centuries, living every day with the knowledge of what those men took from me.
I vowed that should I ever get the chance, I would find some way to repay those men for what they did.
I was nearing the end of my patience, however. Years passed and nothing happened. No opportunity presented itself to me, and I began to despair that I would be stuck here forever. Then you came along. I was going to let my Beast eat you, but then you faced it down, showing no fear. That piqued my interest, and when I saw that you had no core, I had the idea to try and merge our souls.
You have what I’ve always needed: a body. And I have what you’ve been missing your entire life: a core. I can already feel that the bonds they placed on me have been erased with our merging. Now, as you grow in power, so will I. And, I will be expecting you to kill those two men once you’re strong enough.”
Geon finished recounting his story, and Roy nodded. He felt a pang of sympathy for the Dungeon core, knowing well how cruel others could be. He couldn’t imagine having to deal with the knowledge for hundreds of years, but he could understand the desire for revenge. Maybe that’s what had decided it for Geon, the fact that they shared similar goals.
The only thing he wasn’t too sure about, was how he would defeat the Martial Artists who’d managed to defeat Geon back when he’d been too strong for Green-Belts.
“Who are the two men who defeated you? Do you know their names?”
“The Beast King of The Crater and the Supreme of Cloying Darkness,” Geon responded immediately.
Roy felt a chill run down his spine. Everyone knew those names. They were the most powerful Martial Artists on the continent as far as anyone knew. No one knew how powerful a Supreme was, but he’d heard rumors. Entire clans wiped out in the blink of an eye, palaces were torn down in an instant, and cities being left in smoldering ruins. And if the Beast King of The Crater was on par with him, that would make him a Supreme as well.
He shook himself and felt his resolve firm. If he truly wanted to be the most powerful Martial Artist in all of Buryoku, then he would have to surpass both of them. He had no doubt that there were stronger Martial Artists out there, but for now, at least, he had a goal.
“So. All I need to do is become a Supreme,” he said with a wry grin. “I guess that’s manageable.”
He felt Geon pulse in his chest in response and Pure Essence flooded his body. He could feel it empowering him, and his entire body tingled with the sensation. It wasn’t exactly a Body technique, but rather, use of Essence to improve overall ability.
There was a muffled whump, and the air suddenly split before them, causing Roy to jump to his feet. It took him a few seconds to realize exactly what it was. It was the portal that would take him to the Trial of Beginnings.
7
Roy took a deep breath to steady his nerves and took a step forward. He stopped when he heard a light mewling sound coming from behind him. Turning, he saw the giant ferret staring at him with wide eyes. It looked nothing like it had before. Now, it just looked more akin to a giant puppy than the vicious, half-ton Beast. He felt bad about leaving it there, knowing that it would be killed the next time someone from the clan came to fight there. And since Geon was coming with him, it wouldn’t be reborn.