Chương 7: Quartz Cuties.

Nythera crumpled onto the floor, back against the cold stone door. I wanted to enter this… after I had time to prepare! What the fuck am I supposed to do with the bear guarding my only exit? Swirls of brown, grey, and crystalline flux danced around the room, they concentrated and sunk into the scattered boulders. Life, it has to be. Those rocks are alive. Picking up a rock she tossed it all the way to the other side of the cavern, about 10 yards, before slinking back to the door.

Several boulders shook in place, one small boulder stood up on two quartz stick-legs and waddled across the room to the impact point of the rock. Upon reaching it, it sank back down onto its legs. Just as I thought, the flux is concentrated on and feeding everything living. Talvik hopped out from underneath her cloak to her shoulder. In the same flat voice as always, "Child, be careful, you are a humanoid, which makes you susceptible to injury".

"I have no intention of dying to rocks" Nythera whispered, very cautious of said rocks. Alright, am I actually ready for this? Nythera checked in on her resources. Health: 280/280 Flux: 943/943 Stamina: 165/190 Eyes popping out of her skull, Nythera audibly gasped. MY FLUX! That's as much as a decent level 100 mage! She clutched her chest. I can outmatch most people on this island in extended duels… If I had more than the bombard. She contained her giddiness.

Nythera crawled her way across the floor, closer to the wide open cavern ahead and summoned her bombard. Don't want shells slamming into the roof, the last thing I need is a cave-in.

"Talvik, can you do anything useful?" Nythera asked.

"Child, you must venture forth on your own merit, if I were to interfere here, with my great powers, your journey would be trivialized. Complete the convergence point." Talvik said. Nythera grumbled "How terribly useful you are" and wove together her Aether bombard. With a 50 flux base cost and 1 flux per 5 second, she could maintain this cannon for minutes at least. At 30 flux per shell, I can only shoot around a dozen shells before I run out… fuck.

While I can't level it till I get a class, I can use tokens on it hmm. Nythera's eyebrows tightened in frustration. But that would make the Flux Control and Flow Quality requirements higher and the cost to materialize and fire higher, not something I can manage now. She looked up at the rocky ceiling. Why didn't the supply depot have something more… aggressive? A sword would have been nice, that doesn't cost any flux to use.

The bombard soundlessly crystallized on the cavern floor in all its glory; Stout, short, and ready to blow up a bunch of rocks. Nythera smirked. I'm going to show these rocks who the boss is around here. Nythera, crouched just behind the bombard and aimed the barrel. The grey, stout tube moved at her whim, support legs shifting to adjust the angle. FIRE! She commanded through her connection.

The bombard lurched back, the magic shell whistling through the cavern as it cut the wind, barely missing the cavern roof as it arced. And landed square on the small boulder that had followed her previously tossed-rock. The shell smashed through its hard shell and detonated, shattering it into hundreds of pieces and sending rock fragments and fire flying over the area. YEAH! Go bombard! Finally useful! Nythera silently cheered, pumping her fists.

Boulders throughout the cavern, nearly half of them, shook and stood up, standing on crystalline quartz legs, they waddled across the cavern floor towards the impact site. Some shot out little jagged quartz arms, which sharpened to a jagged point. They're… kinda cute actually. She held the bombard steady, waiting for the skill cooldown to come down. A minute later. FIRE!

The shell whistled through the air and slammed into the crater the last one had left, the blast of fire and force catching several smaller Quartz cuties in the blast and sending them flying into other rocks. Quartz Cuties or Q-Cuties, I'm calling them that, a lot better than "Fluxspawn Quartz Golems". As the dust settled, several of the smaller ones had smashed open on the ground, revealing a purple crystalline interior and quartzite flux organs. Ohhh they're geodes!

I bet they'll sell for a pretty price if I can haul them out of here. She had to stop herself from drooling. The smaller ones began to congregate at the blast zone, but the bigger ones, some over two meters tall, were roaming around the room at random, bumping into walls and each other, then shifting direction. Thus far none had ventured near the entrance. I should get some stakes or something to hold this thing in place, FIRE!

Many of the small Q-cuties were bunched up at what was quickly becoming their mass grave. The shell whistled through the air and obliterated far more of them this time, nearly all the small Q-Cuties were dead. Three of the bigger, not-so-cute boulders went straight for her. She noticed little white eyes. Jagged. Glaring straight at her. Oh fuck, they can see? Nythera aimed the bombard cannon into the cavern. FIRE! She commanded and then backpedalled back up the entrance.

The shell smashed into one and blew a massive hole into the side, geode and rock sent flying. The remaining Quartz Golems all turned to face the source of the disturbance, and one after another, proceeded to the entrance. Health: 280/280 Flux: 761/943 Stamina: 168/190 I've got more than enough for another Bombard or two… but nowhere to run, a bear on one side and less-cute rocks on the other. Nythera wished she had a more practical combat skill. THUD! The sound of stone on stone echoed throughout the cavern.

Nythera turned back to see the cause of the commotion. She barreled over in laughter.

"HAHAHAHA what morons! This is too easy, is this really a dungeon?" Nythera burst out laughing, hands on knees. Two of the bigger golems had tried to enter the passage at the same time and were stuck in the entrance, their quartz stick-arms jammed up against the walls of the cavern.

"This convergence point is what you humans would classify as Surface Stratum, or Strata one, meaning it's far above your current ability. Please take this seriously before you die." Talvik chimed in.

"What are you talking about, they can't even move, I can pick them off one by one". Nythera stopped laughing. She manifested another Aether Bombard, her previous one already half dissipated. One of the golem's quartz arms glowed, emitting stronger and stronger light. With her bombard manifested, Nythera pointed the cannon straight into its face. This is gonna be easy! I'll be scraping pretty flux organs off the floor soon. The golem's quartz arm was dazzlingly bright, energy danced along it.

"FIRE!" She screamed, exhilarated to finally be saying it out loud without fear. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. The muzzle exploded in a burst of fire and flux, the shell smashing straight through the boulder's rough surface and into the crystalline interior. Flux shot out of the quartz and headed straight for her. Shit, I don't have anywhere to go, walls on all three sides, I'm trapped.

A glimmering silver shield, vibrant with flux appeared before here, Talvik at the center, wings spread wide. Ephemeral streaks of silver emanated from Talvik, stretching behind him in a dome. The crystalline power from the golem struck the shield and rebounded into a cavern wall, sending dust and rock flying"Stupid Child, you take on tasks far beyond you, never prepare or ask for help, and then allow confidence to spoil your only chance, you have much to learn."

Talvik said as yet another beam was deflected off the shield. Humans never learn… if only they had feathers" he muttered.

"What are you, really? Talvik" Nythera stared in amazement. Is he a fluxspawn? Why is he even helping me at all?

"No Child, I am not fluxspawn, I am not going to eat you, or whatever other nonsensical thoughts you're having, but you must Learn, you must Prepare. This is the only time I will save you from yourself." Talvik's voice carried a deep scorn. She squinted, eyes armed with suspicion. Is he a mind-reader? That could explain things. Nythera brought forth yet another bombard, weaving flux with increased speed and precision, the cannon this time, already aimed at the closest golem. Only one remained.

"FIRE!" Nythera commanded. The muzzle flashed in flames and a shell slammed into the golem, detonating it from the inside and shattering most of its structure. As soon as enough of the golem crumbled to the ground to where she could see past it, she launched another shell straight into the horde behind. She waited for the cannon to reload and then launched another salvo. And another, Shells flew, fire burst, and rock scattered, rebounding off Talvik's silver shield.

I'm going to have to be more cautious of my own cannon. The debris is insane. She flinched down as another rock flew over Talvik's shield. Nythera launched shell after shell, until all she knew was the sound of cannonfire. I'll slaughter these bastards. She checked her reserves before resuming the assault. Flux: 75/943 WAIT WAIT WAIT She halted herself mid-FIRE. I shoot another shot or two and I go down too. She broke out of the cannon-fire induced trance. Nythera caught her breath.

The silver shield disappeared as Talvik flew back to her shoulder.

"Good, you stopped yourself from failing, barely. You have much to learn, Child." Talvik scolded.

"Yeah, I get it, I know I fucked up ok, no need to rub it in, caught myself didn't I?" Nythera pouted in reply. She went over to the first dead golem by the entrance, its shattered center revealing a beautiful purple geode. I'm sure this will sell for a killing! Nythera weaved between the many fallen golems to the center of the cavern and beheld the carnage she had caused. By Kronan, I am so powerful now! She barely managed to contain her giddiness.

She took anything that looked remotely valuable and crammed it into Boxy, but the bottom never seemed to fill up. The lid interface now read: [43 ration packs] [13 Quartz Golem Hearts] [13 Incomplete Quartz Golem Corpses]"You should reevaluate before proceeding any further," Talvik warned her. System notifications also poked at her mind, but she brushed both aside. Nythera scanned the room but couldn't find any hostiles remaining.

There was instead, now a chest on the far end of the room near the tunnel going deeper.

"Oh it'll be fine Talvik, I'm just going to collect the loot I got for the room and then I'll stop." Nythera said, confidently striding towards the chest, grin filled with avarice. She lifted the lid of the chest, searching for her rightfully acquired wealth. Ten dimly glimmering coins and a pair of gauntlets greeted her. The coins had special seals stamped on them and were dense with flux.

"Sparks! Sweet, I heard our coinage came from dungeons but it's surreal seeing it in person." Nythera said, shoveling the coins into her trusty Boxy. Examining the gauntlets, she could not make out what they did but they were clearly flux-empowered. I'll figure it out later. Nythera shrugged and put them on. She felt heat seep into her arms, but nothing appeared different. Nythera's vision rapidly shook, she fell to the floor, debris falling off the ceiling.

"Ah shit, what now, didn't I kill everything here already?" Nythera exclaimed, the shaking preventing her from standing. Nythera crawled backwards, assisted by the rising hump of rock beneath her. Glimmers of light shone through the dust and rock.

"I warned you Child, you have done no preparations and have done nothing to recover, now you pay for your poor decisions." Talvik's words came like a death sentence.

"Featherless idiot" He spat. Nythera scrambled across the floor as the goliath in front rose on two sharp legs of milky quartz, its many crystal eyes shining ruby and emerald in the dimness. Three jagged protrusions of purple quartz accompanied it on either side. She had never seen such incredible flux density in any creature before. It practically blinded her with energy. Unlike the bear, this fluxspawn's energy was far more concentrated and didn't seem to leak into the environment.

Nythera sprinted for the cavern entrance. I have to escape, there's no fucking way I can fight this thing. As she crossed the cavern floor, steps slowly thundered behind her, inevitable rocky-doom was in pursuit. On impulse she dove down. A split second later, white lightning coursed overhead, blowing up a wall and causing debris to rain down. She scrambled up, pulling herself up with the door. She grabbed the door and yanked it open as hard as she could, bright light spilling into the cavern.

Nythera collapsed against the outside of the door, breathing deeply.

"That was scary, thought I was gonna die back there" Nythera said, almost giggling. Talvik scurried out from the door and back to her shoulder in a blink.

"What did I just tell you, Child, you learn nothing." Talvik scolded her.

"Yeah yeah, ok I'll listen next time" she said. Talvik shook his head. The ground shook, so lightly at first that Nythera thought it was just her imagination, then louder and louder. The doorway filled with stone, emerald and ruby eyes stared back at her.

"Dungeon fluxspawn are perfectly capable of leaving their dungeons, have you ever considered where that bear came from?" Talvik lectured her as the ground shook.

"What? I thought they could only leave during overloads" Nythera mumbled, wide-eyed. She sprinted for the treeline. The air was charged with energy; earthen, crystalline, and lightning flux.

"The fluxspawn you lured out of the dungeon could be classified as an Outer Sub-guardian, but it's slow so you might be able to outrun it." Talvik advised with eerie calmness. From the undergrowth lumbered a huge white beast with blue streaks. That fucking BEAR! LEAVE ME ALONE. She backed off slowly from in between them, hoping they wouldn't pursue as she slinked off to the side. The two continued lumbering straight forwards.

Vibrant strands of flowing flux wildly snaked through the air as the clearing became charged with energy. All six of the quartz zappers on the golem began to glow purple with energy, likewise the bear's blue streaks lit up with dancing lightning. It charged. As the energy reached its zenith, several crystalline beams shot forth from the golem, but they met a shield of azure flux in front of the bear, its forward momentum unhindered.

As the bear closed in on the golem, it raised onto its hind legs, front paws ready to destroy anything they made contact with. A solitary beam of energy lanced out from the golem straight for her. SHIT! She tried to roll away but the energy seemed to follow. As soon as it made contact with her leg, a scalding pain lanced through her. She muffled her own scream and clutched at her leg. Nythera checked her flux and health. Health: 264/280 Flux: 85/943 Fuck, why did I have to burn through 800 flux in a single fight?

She was furious with herself. She had enough for a single shot and all of 5 seconds to aim it. I am going to take revenge for this, bastard decided to hit me while fighting the bear. Why? … it didn't want me to run away? Does it eat human flesh? Her Health rapidly depleted to heal her wound. The flesh by the wound glittered as if it had crystalized. What happens if one wins this fight? do fluxspawn even eat each other?

Two titans crashed into each other, the bear's force sending the golem sliding back several feet, chunks of stone and crystal flying off. The charged impact sent a shockwave into the forest, trees and foliage shaking. She was sent tumbling through the undergrowth.

"My advised course of action is to flee to the river as fast as possible. The fluxspawn will be busy here for at least a few minutes, you can build a decent lead in that time." Talvik chimed in with a plan.

"So back to running…" Nythera said absentmindedly, lost in thought. I am so sick of running from these overgrown pets. If I wait a bit I might be able to squeeze out another shot Nythera peered out from behind a tree. The goliaths were still battling, although the bear had a gash across its side, soaking much of the fur with red. Seems the golem is winning, in which case I'll target the golem. Besides I owe that bastard one.

One of the golem's quartz zappers had broken off, but other than that, she couldn't discern any damage. Nythera creeped around behind the golem, maintaining her distance from the imagined safety of the tree line That's when she saw it, a hole in its rocky shell. Purple glints of the interior were barely visible through it. Nythera backed up to the cliff wall, near the door to the dungeon and channeled her flux into the bombard construct. The fluxspawn completely ignored her.

As the bombard manifested, Nythera carefully aimed the barrel, support legs shifting beneath it. Fortunately the golem didn't seem to move much by itself. I liked the Quartz Cuties till you showed your ugly face! And then you burnt my fucking leg! Nythera put her head just beside the barrel, closed her left eye and aimed. Giant-Slayer roared into action, her stats rising to new heights.

"FIRE!" She yelled. A shell thundered past her ear in a burst of flame. A huge chunk of the golem's backside was blown cleanoff, what was once a small hole was now a gaping person-sized entrance. It fell backwards. The bear, still fixated on winning, stood on its hind legs and pushed down with its front paws. As the golem toppled over, the entire structure gave out, the quartz legs left stuck in the mud and huge chunks of fractured geode scattered into the clearing.

The bear smashed the golem into bits, up and down, up and down it went with its front paws, until little but rocky bits remained. Yes! I did it! The bear looked up. Straight into her eyes. It snarled.