Ch. 7 - Avelion (II) (Patreon)

The trio made their way through the large city. Tinuriel briefly explained that the entire city was called Avelion Primus and was built around the only path up to the next Tier. An inner gate guarded that side, but otherwise, they used the cliffs of the next Tier itself to provide back protection.

They arrived at a large, wooden, three-story building with a large tower on top. Tinuriel turned and put her hand out, “Knife.”

Felix nodded and handed it to her, the elven warrior putting it into a strap on her armor and led him inside. The interior reminded Felix of a Viking longhouse mixed with a grand entrance hall. It felt cozy and snug, with several large chairs, couches, and bookshelves full of tomes. At the far end was a mahogany throne, and sitting upon it was a male elf. He looked young, with piercing, blue eyes and a few specks of silver hair scattered among his brown locks, held back by a small wooden circlet.

An elven child ran forward and cleared their throat, “King Avelion the XII requires the reason for your visit.”

Tinuriel stood aside and gestured to Felix, “This Human was found in the Third Quadrant. He killed several Kobolds, saved the lives of myself and Ilanora, and gave of his alchemical reserves to cure our wounds.”

The King leaned forward, “Well now, a Human.” He waved the child away, and they ran off into a side chamber. “Your kind is not welcome on Tier ten. I only tolerate your presence because Tinuriel has vouched for you by virtue of saving her life...How did you come to be here?”

Should I lie?

Honesty is the best policy. But there’s no harm in muddying up the waters a little. Just say the following…

Felix nodded, “I stepped through a portal and arrived here. Some Magic brought me to this place. I need to get up the Tiers.”

The King leaned back and put his hand to his chin, “You speak our language…interesting…You wish to ascend the Tiers. For what purpose?”

“I was sent here to solve problems. There are problems up there,” Felix replied quickly.

“We have our problems here. I assume you met the Kobolds in the forest. They are growing in number…Who sent you?”

One second…They worship deities from the Heavenly Realms.

“The gods sent me,” Felix said with the newfound information.

The King smirked, “Which one?”

I don’t have a list. Damn System! Okay, go with something that they have to have…like a god of war.

“A deity of war. I didn’t get their name.”

Smart, going gender-neutral to ensure that you don’t mess up. Let’s hope this works!

“Is that so? Well, if you desire war upon the higher Tiers, I can let you go…but only if you help solve our Kobold issue.”

Felix nodded, “If that’s the only way to get up the Tiers. How do we fix it?”

The King glanced at Tinuriel, and she nodded, turning to Felix, “We believe it’s a Dungeon. Kobolds are not native to this Tier. It must be a large Dungeon if it has become large enough to allow its inhabitants to roam freely.”

I did find something else about Dungeons from the System. If you beat a Dungeon, you get Stat Boosts to all your stats. You can find magical items, and even maybe get an Affinity – bypassing the Core Level limit for rating.

That sounds like it’s worth doing.

Lucifer’s enthusiasm poured through his voice, an excitement at a new experience. Hell yeah! Let’s do it!

“I’ll help find and clear the Dungeon,” Felix replied as he crossed his arms, “But I need two things.” He held up his finger, “One, I need my weapon back.” He held up the second finger, “And two, I’d like a bow and some arrows.”

The King smirked, “That can be arranged. Tinuriel,” he looked to the elven warrior, “You seem to be getting along decently with this Human. I instruct you to accompany him.”

Tinuriel grunted in frustration but nodded, “Yes, my lord.”

Just the two of us?

You have me, so that makes three. Besides that, Dungeons supposedly scale to party size. So, taking an army is just as effective as going solo.

What about all the Kobolds outside?

Who knows?

“Thank you,” Felix bowed slightly. “Are we dismissed?”

The King nodded, “You may go. Spend the night, and recover. Set out on the morrow. Tinuriel, I trust you, my dear.”

Tinuriel’s demeanor brightened slightly, she nodded as she gestured for Felix to turn around and leave the large hall. He complied, and when they were outside, she gave him his knife back which he quickly sheathed. “You wanted a bow?”

Felix nodded, “Yes, please. I don’t have a ranged option except Magic right now.”

She walked over to a nearby building, went inside for a moment, and came back out with a short bow and a quiver of arrows. She handed it to him, and as soon as Felix’s hands touched it, he felt a sense of comfort.

The Warrior Class gives you broad weapon familiarity. Even if you never used one back on your Earth, you will still be a good shot here. Lucifer sounded calm, but there was a hint of eagerness under the tone.

“Come, we rest,” Tinuriel said as she led Felix to a set of houses. She pointed to one, “That is where you will stay for now. Do not leave unless you are accompanied. We leave at first light tomorrow.”

“Thanks,” Felix said. “Oh, you were collecting the Kobold Ears also, what good are they?”

“An Alchemist like you doesn’t know?”

“I bought those Elixirs I gave you. I don’t know how to make them.”

She frowned and sighed, “We use the ears to make a potion that can improve one’s stamina.”

“Sounds useful.”

“It is. Goodnight.”

“But it’s not even dark yet.”

“Too bad. Go inside. Don’t come out until I knock to come get you.”

Felix sighed and nodded, going into the house and shutting the door behind him. He heard a board slide into place. The room was sparsely furnished. Two buckets – one with water and one without – sat in the corner. Opposite was a small, wooden bed frame with some hay tossed on top. Well, I’m not staying here. Lucifer, open my VBV.

Right. It’ll take four hours.

Felix looked around the spartan room and sighed, “Man, being a Versewalker is more boring than I thought it would be.”

That’s why you have to value the highlights. The action. Traveling is the worst part. Just wait until you eventually get some Affinity, Skill, or Talent that lets you fly. There was a sense of giddiness that came through his voice. It is thrilling to fly.

The time passed as the sun started to set. The grey portal opened, and Felix stepped through into the VBV. Everything was the same as when he last left, and he received a notification at the top of his vision.

[Greetings Versewalker. You have messages.  Please make your way to your Mailbox.]

The grey material of the void manifested in front of the Shop and a small terminal appeared. It was sort of like a futuristic ATM, and Felix walked up to it as Lucifer split off from him, reforming into his body. Felix touched the panel and saw several messages pop up.

Felix was confused. The blue text was the same as the laptop that he had pressed the execute command on. “I thought that ‘Verse was locked?”

Lucifer walked over and chuckled, “Well, the System Admin must have been fine with letting it send you a message.” His voice changed to a more serious tone. “Or, something else could have happened.”

Felix pushed the button for the Basilisk, and a line of text appeared on the screen.

“Ooof, it seems pissed.”

Felix archived the message and tried not to think about the fact that he would, eventually if he lived long enough and got strong enough, have to go back and face whatever that thing was. No, he wasn’t afraid of that thing. It was just some computer program. He was afraid of what the government might do to Penny once he got back.

Lucifer patted him on the back, “At Core Level 100, you’ll be unstoppable. No need to worry about some smart computer or its lackeys.”

Felix nodded and felt a sense of relief wash over him. “Thanks, Lucifer.” He tapped the message from the Observer.

“Isn’t that nice, she included her name. She must be getting attached.” He chuckled slightly.

“Yeah,” Felix replied as he archived the message. “These Advanced Classes…is there any chance I get access to one because you’re with me?”

Lucifer chuckled and nodded, “The Fallen Angel Class. It’s very special.” He flared his wings out and pointed at them. “You can get a set of these lovely accouterments. Here, I’ll show you the Class and Skills.”

Felix smirked, “That’s something to consider.” He tapped back to the home screen on the Mailbox. “I get a new Room and Function for the VBV also. Any ideas?”

“Some type of crafting station wouldn’t hurt. That elf lady mentioned Alchemy, and we know that you have a Talent with that in the name. It’s not a leap of logic to assume that if you try to make an elixir or something, you’d get a Talent enabling it.”

“Seems logical. Alright, let’s get a crafting station.” The grey of the void returned, and next to the Shop, the ground rose and a door appeared. Felix went to it and descended the stairs, finding an enormous hallway that stretched until it vanished from sight. It was well-lit, and several doors were on either side. Each had a blank placard.

“Ah. You just name the type of crafting station you want. And, the hallway will bring the required room closer.”

Felix nodded and touched the door, “I’d like an Alchemy room, please.” The words ALCHEMY LAB appeared on the plate, and the door opened, sliding into the wall. The interior of the room was twenty feet by twenty feet and filled with laboratory equipment from various eras of technology.

[Achievement Unlocked: Created a crafting Room in your VBV.]

So, these messages that keep scrolling across my vision are combined if multiple would be stacked in one go, but otherwise, they’re kept separate. He smiled, knowing that he wouldn’t be bombarded with constant notifications.

Felix walked to one of the benches, and in his vision, he saw a variety of recipes based on the ingredients in his Inventory. One of them was to use the Kobold Ears to make Vigor Elixirs. It would take ten of them for a single Elixir. “Okay, let’s make that.” As he said those words, the steps to a recipe appeared in his vision, and the System highlighted the equipment he would need in pink. He began to brew.

“I’m going for a flight. I’ll leave you to it.”

“Oh!” Felix turned around and paused his crafting. “I want to assign the Function for Core Level 3.”

“Sure thing.” Lucifer leaned against the door frame. “What do you want it to be?”

“Allowing other people in here if I give them permission.”

Lucifer chuckled, “Got the hots for the big elf lady?”

Felix blushed and turned away, “N-No. Of course not.” He set about to crafting as Lucifer laughed louder, leaving and shutting the door behind him. Felix kept at following the instructions appearing in front of him, and grabbing the various chemicals he was directed to. Eventually, the project was done.

[Loot consumed in crafting]

·         10 Kobold Ears

[Loot obtained]

·         <Rank 1> Vigor Elixir

Felix went outside and breathed in the clean, mountain air before he went into the house and put his head down.

“Hey, it’s almost morning back on Heficyre.”

Felix woke up to a barely clothed Lucifer who was wiping off with a towel. “Did you have to wake me up like that?” Felix asked as he quickly turned away.

“Please. Everyone likes what they see when they look at me. Plus, I don’t have a shower. You do.”

Felix shook his head and took his turn showering before gearing up. Lucifer was dressed when he got out and touched Felix’s chest as he reabsorbed into him again. Felix willed the portal to Heficyre open and went back through.

The sunlight was barely starting to peek through the covered, wooden slats that stood in for windows. Felix made sure his gear was on right and put his hood up as the bar on the door was removed. Tinuriel was standing there, dressed in lighter armor that was not nearly as clunky. “Ready to go?” Her voice was curt, direct, and no-nonsense.

Felix nodded and followed her as they were let out of the main gates and began to make their way through the forest. “Any idea where this Dungeon is?”

Tinuriel shook her head, “No. But we can get to the place we last left off.”

“Or I can do some Magic,” Felix replied. This got Tinuriel to turn around and raise an eyebrow. “Just watch.” Felix held up his hand and muttered the Power name, “Detect Object.”

A line of gold shot off to his left and back towards the cliff. “It’s that way,” he said, pointing.

She can't see the Detection Affinity Magic/Power effects.

“You’re useful. But not a Primal Chaos or Heavenly Realms mage. How do you do it?” Tinuriel seemed genuinely intrigued but kept a rough demeanor that had an undercurrent of sincerity. "You used flaming beams on the kobolds, and now claim to know the correct way to this Dungeon?"

I thought about this last night. Let me do something. Ahem… “Hey there!”

Tinuriel drew her weapon – a long, two-handed blade, and pointed it at Felix. “What was that voice that sounds like honey and venom?”

I didn’t know you could do that! You could have been talking out loud, this whole time? Felix thought.

Yeah. Normally it’s not smart for a Versewalker Core to be known. But trust me. I got this. “Hey there Tinuriel, Felix here is a Summoner. I’m the one doing the Magic.”

Tinuriel sheathed her weapon and nodded, “Why didn’t you say so?"

What the hell is a Summoner?

A person that binds other creatures to their service, and lets them live in their body in exchange for power.

Felix chose to play along and scratched his head as he grinned sheepishly, “I didn’t know how you’d react.”

Tinuriel pointed the direction Felix had before, “That way?”

“Mhmm. I can lead if you want.”

“How stealthy are you?”

“I am pretty damned good at sneaking around,” Felix replied. He activated Ghostwalk and began walking toward the golden light, getting just behind a tree and breaking line of sight.

“Wait! Where’d you go!” Tinuriel was looking around frantically.

That is so cool! Felix felt practically invisible as he snuck around to a different tree – completely unseen – before popping his head out and waving at Tinuriel.

“Don’t disappear like that,” Tinuriel muttered as she came over.

“You were the one who asked if I was stealthy.”

“And don’t worry, Felix wouldn’t have left you behind. We don’t leave people behind. Rise as one, fall as one.”

Tinuriel nodded and let her façade slip slightly as a small grin showed on her face. “Lead the way.”

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